62nd Annual Awards Dinner

Come see Chicago’s top professional players, coaches, scouts, and administrators being honored in their respective fields for reaching major accomplishments.

Save the date: January 20, 2008

Major League Baseball's oldest living member of the Hall of Fame, Bob Feller, will headline this year's list of Guest Speakers.

2008 Guest Speakers
Bob Feller - MLB Hall of Famer
2008 Distinguished Guests

Master of Ceremonies
Tom Shaer

Presenters
Jessie Rogers - WSCR Radio
Dave Kaplan - WGN Radio

Support Group
Entertainment - Nancy Faust
National Anthem & 7th Inning Stretch- Wayne Messmer
Awards Program Music - George Bliss

Autograph Signees

Professional Players (current and former)
Bob Feller - MLB Hall of Famer
Marquis Grissom - Cubs/Expos/Giants
Curtis Granderson - Tigers
Scott Fletcher - Sox and Cubs
Eric Soderholm - White Sox
Bill Sharp - White Sox
Bill Campbell - Cubs
Jack Perconte - White Sox
Gene Hiser - Cubs
Dave Otto - Cubs

Dan Pasqua - White Sox
Rich Nye

Minor League Players
Alex Morales - Nationals
Chris Getz - White Sox
John Ely - White sox

2008 Charitable Donations

This year, the club will be donating to several charities. Each of the charities listed below will be presented with $1,000 donations:

  • Cubs Care
  • White Sox Charities
  • Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation
  • Near West Little League
  • Marquis Grissom Baseball Association
2008 Award Winners

Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame
Bob Feller - MLB Hall of Famer

Chicago Area AL Major League Player-of-the-Year
Curtis Granderson - Detroit Tigers

Youth Coach-of-the-Year
Scott Fletcher - Former White Sox and Cubs' Player

Chicago White Sox Executive-of-the-Year
Brooks Boyer

Chicago White Sox Minor League Player-of-the-Year
Chris Getz

Chicago White Sox Area Minor League Player-of-the-Year
John Ely

Community Service Award
Marquis Grissom - Former MLB Player

Bill Veeck Lifetime Achievement
Irish O'Reilly - Lewis University

Bill Gleason Media Personality-of-the-Year
George Ofman - WSCR 670 AM

Harry Caray Sportscaster-of-the-Year
Mike Murphy - WSCR 670 AM

Independent Minor League Organization-of-the-Year
Windy City Thunderbolts

Chicago Area Minor League Player-of-the-Year
Alex Morales - Washington Nationals

Independent Executive-of-the-Year
Jayne Simmons - Southern Illinois Minors

Independent General Manager-of-the-Year
Bill Terlecky - Gary Southshore Railcats

Nick Kamzic Scout-of-the-Year
Steve Lemke - New York Yankees

Pitch & Hit Club Service Award
Jack Gallo

Bo Jackson Courage Award
Erica VanZuidam - University of Illinois

Mary Francis Veeck Woman-of-the-Year
Arlene Gill - Chicago Cubs

Female Amateur-of-the-Year
Bridget Venturi

Male Amateur-of-the-Year
Brett Graffy - University of Notre Dame

Amateur Coach-of-the-Year
Jeff Vukovich - Lombard Orioles

High School Coach-of-the-Year
Doug Sutor - Carl Sandburg High School

College Coach-of-the-Year
Division I - Mike Dee, University of Illinois-Chicago
Division III - Auggie Schmidt, Carthage College

Junior College Coach-of-the-Year
Division I - Steve Ruzich, South Suburban College
Division II - Mike Kashirsky, Moraine Valley CC
Division III - Wayne King, Joliet JC

Check back often for more information on guest speakers and award winners.

Click here to see last year's outstanding list of award winners.

Location: The beautiful, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Located right by O’Hare Airport.

Date: Sunday, January 20, 2008

Time: Cocktails: 4:00 pm

Dinner: 5:30 pm

Program begins: 7:00 pm

Free Autograph sessions with purchase of dinner ticket: 4:00-5:30 pm Have the opportunity to get autograph’s from Major League and Future Major League players.

Memorabilia Raffle: Have an opportunity to win signed baseball memorabilia items from major league players.

Cost per ticket: $60 Table of 10: $600

LAST YEAR'S THE EVENT WAS SOLD OUT; GET YOUR TICKETS NOW.

How to order tickets:

1) Check out our web site for online purchase (coming soon)

2) Send checks payable to Pitch & Hit Club and mail to:

Chip Sobek
2625 Camelot Drive
Dyer, IN 46311

3) Contact Chip Sobek at 219-865-9442 or csobek@pitchandhitclub.org

4) Stop by our next meeting. See our homepage for dates.

Sponsorships and Ads: Please e-mail us at sponsor@pitchandhitclub.org or call us for information.
847-781-8039.

Here are what some people had to say about the 61st Annual Dinner:

"What an inspirational night. It's one I'll never forget." - Roland Hemond

"It was a special night, with a couple of great stories, and I'm really glad I was here .Anyone who doesn't appreciate what this organization does is missing something." - Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry

"Just wanted to thank you and the Pitch & Hit board for honoring Bill and I at your recent banquet. I have been attending the Pitch & Hit banquet for years; it is truly a first class operation. The mix of the high profile professional baseball (players and managers) makes the banquet prestigious , but the mix of amateur baseball recognition makes the banquet very unique. I felt very proud to be part of such a great evening. By the way, not just because I received an award, I thought this years’ Pitch & Hit banquet was one of the best every. Keep up the good work."
- Phil Lawler, Assistant Coach Naperville Central High School

Great to see you last night. Wonderful event! - Donn Paul, Ex-White Sox pitcher

A short note to let each member involved with the 2007 Pitch and Hit Club dinner this last Sunday evening that it was a spectacular event, very professional form ALL angles. I had several guests that I brought to the dinner and they complimented the club and how great the full presentation was for the evening. They also mentioned that it was a great way to kick off the 2007 baseball season to come. Please pass this along to our membership for my personal compliments to everyone that worked so very had on this event. I am proud to be a member of this great organization and will look forward to a great year in 2007 and another great banquet in 2008.
- Steve Spielman

What a great banquet this year.  Keep up the good work. - Paul Strandquist, Rush Ortho

Just wanted to let you know that I have heard from a few of my members that attended your event last Sunday and were very pleased with the whole event. Here is one letter I received this morning. Good luck with next year's event.
- Tony Horner, CSAC www.csac.biz

 

 

 

 

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