OTTAWA – Baseball Canada’s National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser, scheduled for Saturday January 11th, 2014 is an evening that you will not want to miss!
The evening will be headlined by the induction of 2004 National League Rookie of the Year and 11-year MLB veteran Jason Bay onto the Baseball Canada Wall of Excellence sponsored by RBC Wealth Management.
Some of the other current and former Canadian Major League Baseball players that will be in attendance at the Renaissance Toronto Hotel at Rogers Centre in Toronto for the eleventh annual event include John Axford, Jim Henderson, Michael Saunders, Jeff Francis, Andrew Albers and Chris Robinson.
“We have been fortunate in the past to receive great support from our alumni playing Major League Baseball as well as from personnel in both the professional baseball and corporate communities,” says Greg Hamilton, Coach and Director of National Teams with Baseball Canada. “We look forward to celebrating a season of Canadian baseball excellence in an environment that fosters future National Team success.”
Other special guests attending the evening include Toronto Blue Jays President Paul Beeston, Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos, former Blue Jay and two-time World Series champion Duane Ward and former Blue Jay and current National Team Manager Ernie Whitt.
Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar leads a contingent of Blue Jays alumni who will also attend the event.
The banquet, which will once again take place in the Northern Lights Ballroom, serves as Baseball Canada’s primary fundraiser for the National Teams program.
Throughout the evening, Baseball Canada plans on honouring its National Teams and players both past and present. Baseball Canada will honour the Most Valuable Player of both the junior and senior national teams as well as pay tribute to other notable contributors in the form of alumni and special achievement awards.
In addition to the awards portion of the gala, an auction will take place featuring several popular and exclusive items. Past featured items included tickets to the MLB All-Star Game and to NCAA college football games, as well as an exclusive package offered by 2013 World Series Champion Ryan Dempster which includes a trip for four to see a four game series at Fenway park in Boston, three night hotel stay, two restaurant meals, pre-game batting practice and clubhouse tour with Ryan and autographed jerseys. There will also be several autographed pieces of baseball memorabilia available.
Tickets to the event are $400 per person and tables of eight and ten guests are also available for purchase. Baseball Canada has registered charitable status.
For more information, please contact Greg Hamilton, Director of National Teams, at 613-748-5606 ext. 225 or via e-mail at ghamilton@baseball.ca
