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 12th, 2013.
The National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser will honour the accomplishments of alumni throughout the evening including Ryan Dempster who will become the fifth 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 Scott Diamond of the Minnesota Twins and Jimmy Henderson of the Milwaukee Brewers will be given a Special Achievement Award by the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Jimmy Van Ostrand will receive the Senior National Team MVP Award presented by the MLBPA, while Andrew Albers will be given the Stubby Clapp Award presented by Mizuno Canada.
Phillippe Aumont of the Philadelphia Phillies will be on hand to accept the Alumni Award presented by the LJ Pearson Foundation and Jesse Hodges will receive the Junior National Team MVP Award presented by ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Justin Morneau, Russell Martin, Jeff Francis, John Axford, Chris Leroux, Adam Loewen, Scott Mathieson, Pete Orr, Paul Quantrill, Stubby Clapp, 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, two-time World Series champion Duane Ward as well as former Montreal Expos General Manager and current Blue Jays executive Jim Fanning. National Team Field Manager 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 an elaborate awards presentation, cocktail hour and formal dinner, this evening will feature many interactive opportunities with the stars and an extensive auction of sports memorabilia and sporting event packages.
This evening will also serve as a very important fundraising source for Baseball Canada’s National Junior and Senior Teams.
Tickets for the gala cost $400 per person, $3,200 for a table of eight guests or $4,000 for a table of ten guests. Baseball Canada has registered charitable status.
There will be a pre-banquet press conference covered by Sportsnet, TSN and The Score from 3:30-5:30 pm, Saturday January 12th, 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:
-Ryan Dempster (Boston Red Sox) -Scott Diamond (Minnesota Twins)
-Justin Morneau (Minnesota Twins) -Ernie Whitt (National Team Manager/Phillies)
-John Axford (Milwaukee Brewers) -Pete Orr (Philadelphia Phillies)
-Russell Martin (Pittsburgh Pirates) -Chris Leroux (Pittsburgh Pirates)
-Jeff Francis (Colorado Rockies) -Stubby Clapp (Toronto Blue Jays)
-Adam Loewen (New York Mets) -Jimmy Henderson (Milwaukee Brewers)
-Scott Mathieson (Yomiuri Giants) -Chris Reitsma (Olympics/WBC/Braves)
-Andrew Albers (National Team/Twins) -Phillippe Aumont (Philadelphia Phillies)
-Jimmy Van Ostrand (Nat'l Team/Nationals) -Cole Armstrong (National Team/Angels)
-Tyson Gillies (National Team/Phillies) -Jason Dickson (V-P Baseball Canada/Angels)
-Adam Stern (Former Nat'lTeam/Red Sox) -Jesse Hodges (Junior National Team/Cubs)
For more information concerning the gala, please contact Greg Hamilton, Coach and Director of National Teams, via e-mail at ghamilton@baseball.ca
For media interested in covering the press conference, please contact Adam Morissette, Coordinator of Media & Public Relations, via e-mail at media@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.
2013 Baseball Canada National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser Program
2013 Banquet Registration Form
2013 Auction Catalogue
