Omaha G.M. Honored January 14 at Royals Awards

OMAHA, NE - Martie Cordaro, Omaha Royals Vice President/General Manager, will be receiving another honor next month. The Kansas City Royals announced today that Cordaro will be recognized at the 2010 Royals Awards Night, presented by James B. Nutter, on Thursday, January 14 at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, Kansas. Information on the event and the Budweiser Pre-Party, including how to purchase tickets, will be released in the coming days.

During the event, the Kansas City Royals will recognize 13 honorees for their contributions both on and off the field in 2009. Cordaro is the recipient of the Matt Minker Award, which recognizes an outstanding minor league affiliate employee. Last week, Cordaro was among the honorees for the Midlands Business Journal's "40 under 40" recognizing entrepreneurs and business executives under the age of 40. At next month's event in Overland Park, former Omaha and Kansas City Royals greats such as George Brett, Frank White, Willie Wilson and Paul Splittorff will be among the presenters in attendance.

"When I learned of this honor from Kansas City Royals Assistant General Manager J.J. Picollo, I was both elated and humbled," said Cordaro. "Elated since this award is selected by Kansas City's front office, coaches and roving instructors and humbled due to the fact that this award is named in honor of Matt Minker, who was so instrumental in our industry."

"Martie Cordaro is the consummate minor league guy," said Alan Stein, Omaha Royals President. "He loves the game, the people in the stands and in the dugout and respects all of those. He works hard and leads his folks by example and yet never forgets that our role is always about helping the big league club in Kansas City win a World Championship. From our side, it's about the fan experience and community involvement and nobody does that better than Martie. Both Omaha and Kansas City are better because of Martie Cordaro."

Previously, the parent Royals announced the following award recipients as voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America: A.L. Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke was a unanimous selection for the 2009 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year. Billy Butler was also unanimous as the 2009 Les Milgram Player of the Year. Alberto Callaspo was named the 2009 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner.

Adhering to tradition, the Royals will announce and present the Ewing Kauffman Mr. Baseball Award at the event. In honor of the club's first owner, this award recognizes an overall contribution to baseball in the Kansas City area. Eight other award recipients will be recognized at the event.

ABOUT THE ROYALS: The Royals drew 371,046 fans to Rosenblatt Stadium in 2009, exceeding 300,000 fans for the 22nd consecutive season. The team's attendance was up more than six percent compared to 2008, when a total of 349,376 fans watched Royals games. The Royals' average attendance in 2009 was 5,457 fans, which ranked 10th in the 16-team Pacific Coast League and was up from the 2008 season's average of 5,375. The 2009 campaign marked the Royals' largest total and average attendance figures in the past nine years.

For more information, contact Kevin McNabb, Director of Media Relations, at (402) 738-5103.