MSU's Tatum Named To Johnny Bench Award Watch List
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
The award is presented annually by the Greater Wichita Sports Commission in Kansas and is named for 10-time Gold Glove winner Johnny Bench.
Tatum, from Hattiesburg, Miss., drew 43 starts behind the dish as a freshman in 2003 and has started all 12 games this year. He leads Mississippi State at the plate with a .375 batting average with two home runs, 11 RBI and a .455 on-base percentage. He's committed one error in 89 chances (.989) while throwing out six runners on the base paths.
The 45-player watch listed will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists May 20 and three finalists June 3 before a final selection by a national voting panel is announced June 30.
Tatum is one of five catchers from the Southeastern Conference and one of 11 sophomores on the initial Johnny Bench Award watch list.
