BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox left-hander Cam Booser, who overcame alcohol abuse, injuries and a bicycling accident before returning this season from a career in construction to make his major-league debut at almost 32 years old, will receive the Tony Conigliaro Award for overcoming adversity.
“To have my name in the same conversation as Tony Conigliaro is something that I will always hold close,” Booser said. “This is truly humbling.”
The award named for the former Boston outfielder honors a player who overcame adversity "through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Tony C.” Others receiving votes were Kansas City right-hander Lucas Erceg, Atlanta lefty Chris Sale, Oakland righty Mason Miller, Baltimore righty Albert Suárez and Cleveland lefty Matthew Boyd.
Previous winners include Jim Eisenreich, Bo Jackson and Curtis Pride. Previous Red Sox players to win the award were Bret Saberhagen, Jon Lester and John Lackey.
The award was voted on by a committee of Red Sox and Major League Baseball officials, media members and a representative of the Conigliaro family.
Booser retired from baseball in 2017 at 25 after battling through alcohol abuse and injuries that included a broken leg and broken vertebrae, Tommy John surgery, a torn labrum and a broken back when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle. He joined a carpenters union and worked construction but resumed throwing off a mound in late 2020.
Booser pitched in independent leagues in 2021, spent time in the Diamondbacks organization in 2022 and signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox last year, making 48 relief appearances for Triple-A Worcester in 2023. The Red Sox called him up on April 19 and he recorded the last three outs of a victory in his major league debut in Pittsburgh that night.
In all, he had a 3.38 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings in 43 games last season, going 15 games without allowing a run.
Conigliaro was a Boston area native who made his major league debut in 1964 at 19 and homered in his first at-bat at Fenway Park. In his second season, he became the youngest player to lead his league in homers, with 32; he reached 100 homers at 22, the youngest in AL history.
But in 1967, he was hit in the face by a pitch that fractured his cheekbone, dislocated his jaw and damaged his retina. After missing all of 1968, he returned to play two more seasons for the Red Sox before declining vision forced him to retire.
Conigliaro had a heart attack in 1982 and died eight years later at the age of 45. The award has been presented every year since then.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Jimmy Golen, The Associated Press
