Dec. 19, 2007
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech baseball team will hold its Baseball Benefit Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. The annual event will kick off the Yellow Jackets’ 2008 season, which begins Feb. 22 in Atlanta, and features a keynote speaker, dinner and both live and silent auctions in the hotel ballroom.
Five-time all-star and two-time Silver Slugger third baseman Chipper Jones will become the third current member of the Atlanta Braves to address the attendees, joining teammates and past speakers Mark Teixeira and John Smoltz as well as former general manager John Schuerholz, when he serves as the keynote speaker for this year’s event.
Jones was the top overall pick in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft and made his major league debut on Sep. 11, 1993, as the second-youngest player in the league. After missing the 1994 season with an injury, Jones led all major league rookies in runs scored, RBI, games played and started, plate appearances and at-bats in 1995 and was named the Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News. That same season, he helped the Atlanta Braves to their first and only World Series title.
Four years later the DeLand, Fla., native won the 1999 National League MVP award after becoming the first player to hit over .300 (.319) while slugging more than 40 home runs (45) and doubles (41), drawing 100 or more walks (126), notching at least 100 RBI (110) and runs scored (116) and stealing more than 20 bases (25).
Over the last two seasons, Jones has steadily been setting new milestones for the Atlanta Braves. On June 10, 2006, Jones became the Atlanta’s all-time RBI leader (1,144), passing former outfielder Dale Murphy and moving into third on the franchise’s all-time list (including teams based in Boston and Milwaukee). The following month, he recorded his 1,902nd hit, passing Hank Aaron to become Atlanta’s all-time leader. Jones went on to record his 2,000th career hit on June 17, 2007, against Cleveland, approximately two weeks before he tied and passed Murphy for first on the all-time Atlanta Braves home run list, when he belted home runs No. 371 and 372 against the Dodgers on July 5.
Jones finished the 2007 season second in the national league in batting average (.337) and third in on base percentage (.425) and slugging percentage (.604).
Jones continues a tradition of well-known baseball figures to speak at the dinner. Major league stars Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Teixeira and Smoltz, managers Tommy Lasorda, Joe Torre, Jimy Williams, and Sparky Anderson, general managers Cam Bonifay and Schuerholz, as well as popular ESPN analyst Peter Gammons have been featured in the past.
The 13th annual dinner and auction, with proceeds to benefit the Georgia Tech baseball program, will begin at 6:30 p.m. with registration, reception and silent auction and dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $75 per person and $700 for a table of 10. In addition to the dinner, auctions, and keynote speaker, attendees will have a chance to meet the 2008 Georgia Tech baseball team.
For more information on the event or to RSVP, call or email Nick Scherer (404.894.2261 / nscherer@athletics.gatech.edu) or Ethan Shapiro (404.894.5410 / eshapiro@athletics.gatech.edu) or send a check (payable to GTAA) to:
Georgia Tech Athletic AssociationAttn: GT Baseball Benefit Dinner150 Bobby Dodd Way NWAtlanta, GA 30332-0455.
If mailing a check, please include the number of people attending, an email address, a mailing address and daytime telephone number. Please RSVP by Friday, February 1.
