WBSC Secretary-General Beng Choo Low and WBSC Softball Division Chair Craig Cress presented Monica Abbott the WBSC's Order of the Golden Diamond Award before the United States and Canada game at the World Games 2022 on Monday.
“It really means a lot to me," Abbott said after USA's win over Canada at The World Games. "I’ve been playing softball for a long time. I started as a kid but also played at the junior program, went all the way through...from softball being out of the Olympics to coming back... And just to be recognised worldwide for being able to have an impact -- not only on young girls, but also other countries, pros, and people that are now at the prime of their career -- it really means a lot to me.”
The Order of the Golden Diamond recognises those people who have contributed to the development of international baseball and softball and especially for the continuous support, cooperation and assistance to the WBSC through concrete actions and contributions that make possible the widening of the horizons and the innovation and research in the sport.
Born in Santa Cruz, California, on 28 July 1985, Monica Cecilia Abbott is a former collegiate All-American left-handed pitcher, a three-time softball World Champion and a silver-medal winner at the Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. She has played professionally in the United States and Japan.
Abbott played for the University of Tennessee from 2004 to 2007 and majored in communications. She is the NCAA Division I leader in wins (189), shutouts (112), strikeouts (2,440) and innings pitched (1,448). Abbott also holds the record for the most strikeouts in one season (724). She recorded 23 career no-hitters and six perfect games.
While playing for the Chicago Bandits in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) in the US, she earned her spot on the Guinness Book of Records, delivering on 16 June 2012 a 77-mile-per-hour (123.9 kilometres per hour) pitch, the fastest ever recorded in women's softball. She contributed to five NPF titles and earned four MVP awards.
She contributed to six Japan Softball League (JSL) titles and earned five MVP awards.
