ARLINGTON -- Rangers pitcher Jake Diekman, who made a remarkable recovery last season after undergoing three surgical procedures for ulcerative colitis, was selected Thursday as the recipient of the 2017 Richard Durrett Hardest Working Man Award.
The award is presented by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America to a player who has proven to be an inspiration for his team and demonstrates significant improvement over the previous season. It is named in memory of sports writer Richard Durrett, who died in 2014 at the age of 38.
Diekman missed the first five months of the season while going through the three procedures. He returned in September and had a 2.53 ERA in 11 appearances.
In August, Diekman and Amanda Soltero -- who were married on New Year's Eve -- announced the creation of the Gut It Out Foundation to further raise awareness and funding.
On Jan. 24, Diekman will receive the 53rd Hutch Award, which is presented annually by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The Hutch Award will be presented at a luncheon at Seattle's Safeco Field.
Diekman will be honored with the Richard Durrett Hardest Working Man Award at the 2018 Dr Pepper Texas Rangers Awards Dinner, which takes place on Jan. 19 at Gilley's Dallas. Tickets for the dinner are on sale at www.texasrangers.com/awards.
WINTER CARAVAN
The Rangers have announced the schedule for their winter caravan, which runs from Jan. 11-27. The caravan stops this year will be at Kroger instead of Academy Sports, except where noted (all times CT).
Thursday, Jan. 11, 4:30-6 p.m.
Jim Turner Chevrolet, 1105 E. McGregor Drive, McGregor
Scheduled to appear: Matt Bush, Chris Martin, Shawn Tolleson, Tom Grieve
Friday, Jan. 12, 6-7 p.m.
Kroger, 3915 E. U.S. Highway 377, Granbury
Scheduled to appear: Nick Gardewine, Brett Nicholas, Don Wakamatsu, Matt Hicks
Saturday, Jan. 13, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Kroger, 7505 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving
Scheduled to appear: Matt Bush, Brett Nicholas, Jeff Russell
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Kroger, 701 W. Marshall Ave., Longview
Scheduled to appear: Steve Buechele, Robinson Chirinos, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Jared Sandler
Thursday, Jan. 18, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Kroger, 945 W. Lamar Blvd., Arlington
Scheduled to appear: Doug Fister, Matt Moore
Sunday, Jan. 21, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Kroger, 4241 Capitol Ave., Dallas
Scheduled to appear: Jake Diekman, Mike Minor
Sunday, Jan. 21, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Kroger, 12600 N. Beach St., Fort Worth
Scheduled to appear: Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Cole Hamels
Tuesday, Jan. 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Kroger, 2200 FM 663, Midlothian
Scheduled to appear: Jeff Banister, Tony Barnette, Delino DeShields, Dave Raymond
Friday, Jan. 26, 6-7 p.m.
Kroger, 1820 Loy Lake Road, Sherman
Scheduled to appear: Steve Buechele, Matt Bush, Eric Nadel
Saturday, Jan. 27, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Kroger, 2925 Custer Road, Plano
Scheduled to appear: Keone Kela, others TBA

The caravan also will make stops at the homes of the team's top two farm clubs, Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco.
Tuesday, Jan. 23: Event with Round Rock Express, noon
The Rangers will appear at the annual Round Rock Express luncheon, which will be held at the Round Rock Sports Center, 2400 Chisholm Trail in Round Rock. Doors will open at 11:15 a.m. Tickets for the luncheon are on sale through the Round Rock Express ticket office (512-255-2255) and online at www.RoundRockExpress.com. General admission tickets are $50. Fans can also reserve a table of eight for $350. The event, presented by Cody Pools, will begin at noon with an autograph session for ticketed attendees following the program.
Scheduled to appear: Jeff Banister, Tony Barnette, Delino DeShields, Dave Raymond
Saturday, Jan. 27: Event with Frisco RoughRiders, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Rangers will make a stop at Dr Pepper Ballpark, home of the Double-A RoughRiders. A public autograph session will start at noon.
Scheduled to appear: Matt Bush, Robinson Chirinos, Keone Kela, Shawn Tolleson, Jose Trevino, Eric Nadel, others TBA