NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Gerry Fraley spent 25 years at the Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, baseball and other Texas sports. 

On Tuesday at Major League Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings, Fraley -- who passed away after a battle with cancer in 2019 at the age of 64 -- was honored with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award. The award is presented to a sportswriter “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing” during the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s induction weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“Gerry was an accomplished writer and a keen observer of many sports,” said former Rangers owner and U.S. President George W. Bush. “It always seemed to me that baseball was his real passion, thereby establishing a kinship and a lasting friendship.”

Fraley was named on 173 of the 370 ballots cast by BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of service. Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle and Joel Sherman of the New York Post were also finalists for the award. 

“The Texas Rangers join the Baseball Writers' Association of America in honoring Gerry Fraley on his selection as the recipient of the 2024 BBWAA Career Excellence Award,” the Rangers said in a statement. “Gerry was one of the game’s top baseball reporters for more than 35 years, with the majority of the final three decades of his career with the Dallas Morning News. He covered every game and event with passion, intensity, and attention to detail. Gerry was respected by players, coaches, baseball executives and scouts, and umpires for his thoroughness and knowledge of the game.

“Over the last two years of his life, Gerry continued to cover the Rangers with the same dedication and work ethic, despite battling a very aggressive illness. His passing was a painful loss to the BBWAA and baseball family.”