Tim Kurkjian took his spot in Cooperstown when accepting the BBWAA Career Excellence Award at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The morning after Kurkjian’s induction, Stephen A. Smith celebrated his ESPN colleague’s lifetime achievement on Twitter.
“Congrats to our new Hall of Famer,
@Kurkjian_ESPN. Phenomenal baseball mind, an even greater human being,” Smith wrote. “It is an absolute honor to be your colleague. This HOF honor is so we’ll deserved. Congrats again buddy. You are the best!”
After working for the Dallas Morning News, Baltimore Sun, and Sports Illustrated, Kurkjian joined ESPN in 1998. He has since remained a fixture on Baseball Tonight and other company programming.
Decades into his writing and broadcasting career, Kurkjian continues to exude an unmatched joy and passion for baseball.
“It’s an overwhelming experience,” Kurkjian said during his acceptance speech. “I look at this award that I won, at least now I can acknowledge that all those days away from home, all those weekends that I worked — and I’m still working weekends and nights and away from home all the time — it’s all worth it now.”
Congratulations to Kurkjian on his well-deserved induction.