‘Absolutely nobody more deserving’ of award than Andrew Rosten


Andrew Rosten shows off his 2019 Media Relations Person of the Year award, as bestowed upon him by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Andrew Rosten shows off his 2019 Media Relations Person of the Year award, as bestowed upon him by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association.

LOMBARD – When the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association’s board of directors was reviewing nominations for its 2019 Media Relations Person of the Year award, it quickly became clear that Andrew Rosten was most deserving of the honor.

Rosten, who at the time was in his seventh year working as sports editor of the Ford County Record, exemplified what the award, presented annually since 1987, is all about.

“It’s very, very possible that those of us who live up here (in the Chicago area) have never even heard of the Ford County Record, but when (board member) Eric Regez started to tell us about everything that Andrew Rosten does for high school baseball in Central Illinois down that way, we thought there’s nobody – absolutely nobody – who’s more deserving of this award than him. And the conversation ended pretty quickly. All hands went up, and our Media Relations Person of the Year for this year is Andrew Rosten,” Brian Wujcik, the IHSBCA’s president, said at the IHSBCA’s annual Hall of Fame Dinner on Jan. 25.

Rosten took to the podium next, telling the crowd in attendance at the Westin Hotel in suburban Lombard that receiving such a “very high honor” was something he never expected. Fittingly, the focus of his speech – which came just 25 days after he was unexpectedly laid off from the Ford County Record – was the “unknown” of what is to come in life.

“There are a lot of unknowns in the world of sports, including – and especially – the sport of baseball,” Rosten said as he began his acceptance speech. “Anyone who’s been following the game of baseball long enough knows there are a lot of unknowns. If I told you all the known-unknowns I know about in the world of baseball, it would greatly exceed the two-minute time limit.

“The most known of unknowns is, obviously, whether one of the two teams playing a game will win or lose. Or on a given day, whether a game will even be played. With this weather, I think it’s pretty well known there is not going to be a game played tonight.

“There are also some unknowns in life, as well. Getting this award, that’s something that … I had no idea I would ever be nominated for, let alone selected for. I’m sure there were a lot of very good candidates.

“And It’s not the only pleasant unknown that I’ve experienced over the past few years. My brother Brian, who’s sitting at Table 15 along with my mom Dana, my other brother Tim and my dad Ray, he recently told me that he and his wife were going to have twins. Before that happened, it was definitely unknown to me that I was going to be standing here as both a proud uncle and as the winner of this very high honor.

“I want to thank my family and the association, and I want to thank all of the co-workers I’ve had over the years and all of my readers and all of my fans and just countless others for being part of some of the greatest unknowns of my life. Thank you.”

This Friday in Paxton, state Rep. Tom Bennett of Gibson City will be presenting Rosten with another honor – a certificate from the Illinois House of Representatives recognizing him for being named Media Relations Person of the Year.