83rd Annual Dinner and Get-Together
The Association held its 83rd annual Dinner and Get-Together at the Grand in Long Beach, California on February 8, 2008. 248 members and guests were present at the event which featured several interesting speakers and the presentation of Association awards.
Each year at the dinner the Association presents the Win Clark Award to the first year player who had the most outstanding season. This award is in honor of former Secretary of the Association and was first presented in 1951 to Lee Walls, who went on to a successful ten year major league career. Other well known awardees include Willie Davis, Johnny Callison, Jim Lefebvre, Ron Fairly, Tim Wallach, Mark Grace, Jeff Cirillo, Steve Kemp, Tony Gwynn and Jay Gibbons. Last year’s winner was Danny Dorn, of the Cincinnati Reds organization.
This year’s winner is first baseman Andrew Lambo of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Andrew is a resident of Newbury Park, California and was drafted by the Dodgers in the 4th round of the 2007 draft out of Newbury Park High School. He had a wonderful year with the Dodgers Gulf Coast League rookie team, hitting .343 in 54 games with an OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage) of .959. A lefthanded hitter, Andrew pounded lefthanded pitching for a .357 average, and he demonstrated that he had a good eye at the plate with 29 walks. Andrew is ticketed for High A in 2008.
The Chuck Stevens Award is presented to the Southern California resident who had the most outstanding season in the minor leagues. This award is presented in honor of the long time Secretary of the Association, who served the organization for 38 years. Previous winners of this award, Keith Ginter, Sean Burroughs, Jeremy Reed, Jerry Owens, Jason Hirsh and Ryan Madson have all played in the major leagues.
This year’s winner is Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Evan is a resident of Long Beach, attended Long Beach State, and was selected by the Rays in the first round of the 2006 draft. After spending the 2006 season with three teams, Evan had a break out year in 2007. He spent most of the year at Double A Montgomery, where he hit .397 with 21 home runs and OPS of .931. He was moved up to Triple A Durham for the last month of the season to help the Bulls in their quest for the International League pennant. Evan is expected to take over third base for the Rays in 2008.
The Association presented the Rod Dedeaux Memorial award to Sparky Anderson and was accepted on his behalf by Billy Consolo.. This award is presented to the individual who best exemplifies the spirit of the legendary USC Trojan coach.
The guest speakers were Tommy Davis, Tony Reagins, Darryl Evans, Roland Hemond, Tony Muser, Kenny Landreaux and Dave Frost. Davis told how he decided to sign with the Dodgers in 1956 when he received a personal call from Jackie Robinson. Reagins gave the audience his outlook for the Angels in 2008. Muser provided a few anecdotes about Tommy Lasorda, while Evans described a call he received from Howard Cosell, urging him to sign with the Yankees when he became a free agent.
Roland Hemond discussed the importance of higher education for ballplayers and the relationahip the Association has developed with the University of Phoenix, which has enabled many members to continue their education while playing ball. Landreaux and Frost discussed the great strides the Urban Baseball Academy has made during the past year in bringing more young inner city players into the game.
All pictures were taken by Stephen Smith. Thank you Stephen!
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