San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval has been selected as the Hickok Belt Award winner for the month of October 2012. Voting was conducted by a select panel of members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA). Sandoval was selected based on his performance throughout the postseason in which he hit .369 with five doubles, six homers and 13 RBIs. In the World Series, Sandoval hit .500 and belted three home runs in Game 1, as the Giants went on to sweep the Detroit Tigers.
Other finalists for the month of October in order of how the NSSA voters ranked them were: Ryan Vogelsong (baseball), Marco Scutaro (baseball), Justin Verlander (baseball), Tom Brady (football), Jimmie Johnson (auto racing), Adrian Peterson (football), Jason Witten (football), Delmon Young (baseball), and Matt Kenseth (auto racing).
Pablo Sandoval’s selection as the Hickok Belt Award winner for October not only recognizes him as “the best of the best” in professional sports for the month, it also marks another milestone in the return of the award given to the top professional athlete across all sports. As a monthly recipient, Sandoval becomes the tenth of twelve finalists for the overall annual award, joining previous monthly award winners including Eli Manning, Jeremy Lin, Lindsey Vonn, Bubba Watson, Josh Hamilton, Le-Bron James, Usain Bolt, and two time monthly winner Serena Williams. Winners as selected by the NSSA will be announced each month throughout 2012. The overall winner will then be announced in early 2013, as the Hickok Belt Award, the crown jewel of sports, will be presented for the first time in over 36 years.
