San Diego — For the second time in seven years, a baseball writer from Detroit will be inducted into the media wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In the closest vote since 2002, when the mail-in ballot process began, former Detroit Free Press sportswriter John Lowe was named winner of the 2023 BBWAA Career Excellence Award. Lowe will be enshrined during the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction weekend July 21-24 in Cooperstown, New York.
Former Detroit News baseball writer Tom Gage, who won the honor in 2015, was instrumental in getting Lowe on the ballot. Lowe edged the late Gerry Fraley — the former Texas Rangers beat writer who covered baseball for 40 years before his death in 2019 — by two votes.
Lowe, always resplendent in a blazer, shirt, tie, creased pants, leather shoes and his trademark straw hat, covered baseball from 1979 through his retirement in 2014. The last 28 of those years he covered the Tigers.
His contributions to the game included creating the quality start stat. His contributions to the profession, though, go far beyond that. That he became a college professor after he retired was fitting. Few mentored more young and aspiring journalists than Lowe.
cmccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky