NASHVILLE, TN – Rice Rice, Vice President of Baseball Communications for the Texas Rangers, has been named the recipient of the 2023 Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence, Major League Baseball announced today during the Baseball Winter Meetings.
The Robert O. Fishel Award, named after the longtime baseball executive, goes to the “active, non-uniformed representative of Major League Baseball whose ethics, character, dedication, service, professionalism and humanitarianism best represent the standards propounded by Robert O. Fishel.” An executive with the Cleveland Indians, the St. Louis Browns, the New York Yankees and the American League Office, Fishel was the inaugural winner of the Award in 1981.
Rice recently completed his 23rd full-time season in Major League Baseball, including his 21st overall with the Rangers. While he has served the bulk of his professional career with the Rangers, Rice also spent two years in the media relations department with the Colorado Rockies in 2006-07. The Kansas City native began his career in baseball as a clubhouse attendant with the Royals from 1994-99, and served as an intern with both the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 and Chicago Cubs in 2000. Rice and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Madeline and Brooks.
Fishel Award nominees are submitted by the 30 Major League Clubs and league officials. The nominees are voted upon by active past winners and MLB officials. The previous winners of the Fishel Award are:
1981 – Robert O. Fishel, American League
1982 – Robert W. Brown, Baltimore Orioles
1983 – Larry Shenk, Philadelphia Phillies
1984 – Arthur E. (Red) Patterson, California Angels
1985 – Jim Ferguson, Cincinnati Reds
1986 – Fred Claire, Los Angeles Dodgers
1987 – Jim Toomey, St. Louis Cardinals
1988 – Tom Mee, Minnesota Twins
1989 – Donald Davidson, Houston Astros
1990 – Ned Colletti, Chicago Cubs
1991 – Phyllis K. Merhige, American League
1992 – Richard Griffin, Montreal Expos
1993 – John Blake, Texas Rangers
1994 – Katy Feeney, National League
1995 – Howard Starkman, Toronto Blue Jays
1996 – Bill Guilfoile, National Baseball Hall of Fame
1997 – Dick Bresciani, Boston Red Sox
1998 – Jay Horwitz, New York Mets
1999 – Bob DiBiasio, Cleveland Indians
2000 – Tim Mead, Anaheim Angels
2001 – Rob Matwick, Houston Astros
2002 – Mike Swanson, Arizona Diamondbacks
2003 – Rick Vaughn, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2004 – Jeff Idelson, National Baseball Hall of Fame
2005 – Randy Adamack, Seattle Mariners
2006 – Rob Butcher, Cincinnati Reds
2007 – Richard Levin, Major League Baseball
2008 – Scott Reifert, Chicago White Sox
2009 – Patrick Courtney, Major League Baseball
2010 – Jay Alves, Colorado Rockies
2011 – Jim Trdinich, Pittsburgh Pirates
2012 – Staci Slaughter, San Francisco Giants
2013 – Tim Hevly, Seattle Mariners
2014 – Jason Zillo, New York Yankees
2015 – Brian Bartow, St. Louis Cardinals
2016 – Bart Swain, Cleveland Indians
2017 – Gene Dias, Houston Astros
2018 – Josh Rawitch, Arizona Diamondbacks
2019 – Tyler Barnes, Milwaukee Brewers
2020 – Dustin Morse, Minnesota Twins
2021 – Michael Teevan, Major League Baseball
2022 – Kevin Gregg, Philadelphia Phillies