OTTAWA-Baseball Canada will host some of its most distinguished Major League alumni, corporate partners and friends at the Northern Lights Ballroom of the Renaissance Toronto Hotel at Rogers Centre on Saturday, January 11th.
The National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser will honour the accomplishments of alumni throughout the evening including Jason Bay who will become the sixth inductee onto Baseball Canada’s Wall of Excellence presented by RBC Wealth Management.
Receiving a Special Recognition Award presented by RBC Wealth Management will be long-time National Team member Chris Robinson who made his big league debut in 2013 and Andrew Albers of the Minnesota Twins who also made his MLB debut in 2013 will be given a Special Achievement Award by the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Seattle Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders will receive the Senior National Team MVP Award presented by the MLBPA for his outstanding performance at the World Baseball Classic, while Milwaukee Brewers closer Jim Henderson will be given the Stubby Clapp Award presented by Mizuno Canada.
Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie will be on hand to accept the Alumni Award presented by the LJ Pearson Foundation.
The Junior National Team MVP presented by ESPN Wide World of Sports will be given to Seattle Mariners prospect Tyler O’Neill after his dominant performance at the IBAF 18U World Cup, while JNT outfielder Gareth Morgan will be presented with the inaugural Canadian Futures Award by the Toronto Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Jeff Francis, John Axford, Pete Orr, Phillippe Aumont, Paul Quantrill, Stubby Clapp, Denis Boucher, Adam Stern and Chris Reitsma are among the current and former Canadian Major Leaguers attending the event for an evening of Canadian baseball celebration, emceed by Blue Jays radio voice Jerry Howarth.
Other special guests include Toronto Blue Jays President Paul Beeston, Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos, Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Executive Jim Fanning along with Blue Jays alums Jesse Barfield, Homer Bush, Candy Maldonado, Lloyd Moseby, Ed Sprague, Pat Tabler and Duane Ward as well as former Montreal Expo and current Blue Jays Baserunning Instructor Tim Raines.
National Team Field Manager and former Blue Jay Ernie Whitt will be in attendance along with former MLB All-Star and current Baseball Canada Vice-President Jason Dickson. Milwaukee Brewers Assistant General Manager and former Blue Jays GM Gord Ash will also be attending.
In addition to the awards presentation, cocktail hour and formal dinner, the evening will feature many interactive opportunities with the stars and an extensive auction of sports memorabilia and sporting event packages.
The evening serves as a very important fundraising source for Baseball Canada’s Junior (18U) and Senior National Teams.
There will be a pre-banquet press conference covered by Sportsnet and TSN beginning at 3:30pm ET, Saturday, January 11th, in the Aurora Room of the Renaissance Toronto Hotel at Rogers Centre (Aurora Room is adjacent to the Northern Lights Ballroom).
The press conference will begin with opening statements from Baseball Canada President Ray Carter and Director of National Teams Greg Hamilton. This will be followed by a scrum style question and answer period with those in attendance.
Players and personnel attending the Press Conference:
-Roberto Alomar
-Andrew Albers
-Phillippe Aumont
-John Axford
-Jason Bay
-Jason Dickson
-Jeff Francis
-Jim Henderson
-Brett Lawrie
-Gareth Morgan
-Tyler O'Neill
-Pete Orr
-Chris Reitsma
-Chris Robinson
-Michael Saunders
-Adam Stern
-Ernie Whitt
For media interested in covering the press conference, please contact Adam Morissette, Coordinator of Media & Public Relations, via e-mail at media@baseball.ca
For more information concerning the gala, please contact Greg Hamilton, Coach and Director of National Teams, via e-mail at ghamilton@baseball.ca
*Please note, for those attending the banquet, there is no ticket required. Please visit the registration table upon arrival at the Northern Lights Ballroom prior to the Cocktail hour to check-in.
2014 Baseball Canada National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser Program
