Dallas, TX – Pittsburgh Pirates Director of Media Relations Jim Trdinich has been named the winner of the 2011 Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence.
Trdinich just completed his 27th season in Major League Baseball, including his 23rd as a full-time member of the Pirates' front office.
In 1987 Trdinich joined the National League office, working under the direction of 1994 Fishel Award winner Katy Feeney for two years. In 1989, he returned to the Pirates as Assistant Director of Media Relations, and he became the club's Director of Media Relations at the age of 26 in 1991.
During Trdinich's tenure, the Pirates have hosted two All-Star Games (1994 and 2006), and he has contributed to MLB's media relations efforts for several National League Championship Series and Midsummer Classics.
The 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."
Fishel Award nominees are submitted by representatives of the 30 Major League Clubs and league officials. The nominees are voted upon by active past winners and the leadership of the BBWAA.
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.
