Baseball Canada Banquet set for January 13
Montreal native Chris Leroux (middle with rose), star of The Bachelor Canada, will be one of the alumni returning for Baseball Canada's National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser on January 13. Photo Credit: Baseball Canada
By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
OTTAWA - The brightest young Canadian baseball stars will take centre stage on Saturday, January 13 as the 16th annual Baseball Canada National Teams Awards Banquet & Fundraiser, presented by Rogers is set to take place at the newly named Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel inside Rogers Centre.
Former first-round picks Josh Naylor and Mike Soroka reached double-A in 2017 as 19 year-olds and represented Canada in the Future’s Game during All-Star weekend in Miami vaulting them to the cusp of the big leagues. Naylor finished his 2017 campaign with an All-Star performance in the Arizona Fall League while Soroka earned Atlanta Braves Minor League Pitcher of the Year honours.
The youth movement will also include slugger Tyler O’Neill of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Landon Leach from the Minnesota Twins, Gareth Morgan from the Seattle Mariners, Andy Yerzy from the Arizona Diamondbacks and a pair of rising Canadian stars eligible for the 2018 Major League draft in Noah Naylor and Denzel Clarke.
“It’s an exciting time to be a fan of Canadian baseball with so much young talent on its way to the big leagues,” said Greg Hamilton, coach and director of national teams with Baseball Canada. “We look forward to celebrating these young players with our current National Team alumni in an environment that fosters future National Team success.”
Pan Am Games gold medalist and former big leaguer Chris Leroux, currently making headlines on season three of The Bachelor Canada, will be on stage to talk about his experiences in becoming a reality TV star in a segment that you will not want to miss!
Leroux will join a slew of National Team alumni for an evening that will honour current and former National Team success.
In addition to the annual awards presentation, the evening will include a cocktail hour and silent auction featuring unique fantasy sports packages from the likes of Ryan Dempster (Chicago Cubs), Luke Willson (Seattle Seahawks), tickets to the MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby, NCAA college football games along with several autographed pieces of baseball memorabilia.
There will be a pre-banquet press conference beginning at 3:30 pm E.T., on January 13, in the Aurora Room of the Marriott City Centre Hotel at Rogers Centre (Aurora Room is adjacent to the Northern Lights Ballroom).
Tickets to the event are $500 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.