Bill Smith honored with 2024 SABR Roland Hemond Award
Bill Smith, third from right, was honored with the 2024 Roland Hemond Award at SABR 52 in Minneapolis. From left, SABR Director and former MLB GM Dan Evans; Minnesota Twins President of Baseball Operations Thad Levine; Smith; and SABR CEO Scott Bush.
AUGUST 9, 2024 — Longtime Minnesota Twins executive Bill Smith was honored at SABR 52 on Friday with the Roland Hemond Award, which recognizes a baseball executive who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to professional baseball scouts and scouting, and player development history.
Smith spent more than 30 years with the Twins organization, including a stint as general manager from 2007 to 2011, a period when the Twins won two American League Central Division titles. He was a special assistant to the president and general manager, and he also was instrumental in the original development and recent renovations of the team’s spring training facilities in Florida.
“Roland Hemond was a critical mentor to me in my career and this award is very special,” Smith said. “He was a forward thinker and he would be very proud to see so many of the changes in the game today.”
Hemond, a longtime SABR member and award-winning baseball executive, was the first recipient of the award in 2001 from the SABR Scouts Committee, who subsequently named the honor after him.
Click here to learn more about the Roland Hemond Award.
Originally published: August 9, 2024. Last Updated: August 9, 2024.