(L-R) Mikaela Shiffrin, the World Baseball Classic Team and Marcus Stroman earned Best of March honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –Standout performances during March earned pitcher Marcus Stroman (Medford, New York), alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin (Vail, Colorado) and the U.S. World Baseball Classic Team Best of March honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today. Stroman, Shiffrin and the WBC champions are among the qualified athletes and teams that are eligible for Best of the Year honors in 2017. .
Stroman led Team USA to its first-ever WBC title and was named tournament MVP after taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the championship game against previously unbeaten Puerto Rico. He completed the tournament with the lowest ERA (2.35) among all U.S. starting pitchers and led the team in strikeouts, while surrendering runs in only one of his team-leading 15.1 innings pitched.
Shiffrin earned three world cup podium finishes in March to win her first overall world cup title, becoming only the fifth American alpine skier – and the third U.S. woman – to accomplish the feat. The overall crystal globe is presented to the alpine skier who earned the most points across all world cup disciplines during the 2016-17 season. Less than one week earlier – and two days shy of her 22nd birthday – she claimed her fourth slalom world cup overall title in five years, tying for the youngest skier to do so.
Team USA won its first WBC title in decisive fashion, defeating Puerto Rico, 8-0, in front of a home crowd in Los Angeles. The U.S. finished with a 6-2 overall record, avenging its two losses against the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, while adding a thrilling 2-1 semifinal victory over two-time WBC champion Japan. U.S. infielder Eric Hosmer and outfielder Christian Yelich joined Stroman on the All-Tournament Team.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods and USG.
About the Team USA Awards
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. An internal nominating committee selects five nominees from both the male and female categories, and three from the team category to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.
Each of the five monthly men's and women's finalists, and three team finalists automatically qualify for consideration for the 2017 Team USA Awards presented by Dow Best of the Year. Visit TeamUSA.org for a complete list of monthly finalists from the 2016-17 qualification period, which runs from September 2016-August 2017. The 2017 Best of the Year Awards will be held in December.
