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2019 Pitch & Hit Club 73rd Annual Awards Banquet

This year's 2019 Pitch and Hit Club 73nd Awards Banquet is being held at the Tinley Park Convention Center on Sunday, Jan 27, 2019. Last year we experienced a full capacity crowd with nearly 400 attendees highlighted by the award winner presentations, the autograph tables, and a nice assortment of memorabilia for our guests. We want to share with you this great night at our annual banquet.

The Pitch & Hit Club is pleased to announce the following will be honored at our 73rd Annual Awards Banquet on Sunday January 27, 2019 at the Tinley Park Convention Center.

Highlighting our honorees at the 2019 Banquet are:

• Ken "Hawk" Harrelson (Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame award)
• Corey Ray-Simeon High School and the Milwaukee Brewers (Chicago Area Minor League Player of the Year)
• Pat Murphy Milwaukee Brewers (MLB Coach of the Year).
• Michael Medici (Texas Rangers) - Nick Kamzic Scout of the
• Sean Mason (St. Ignatius High School) - High School Coach of the Year
• Jeff Szynal (Chicago White Sox) - Lifetime Achievement Award
• Ralph Peterson (Ron Santo Inspiration Award)
• Bren Spillane (University of Illinois) College Player of the Year
• Dick Goss (Joliet Herald News) - Bill Gleason Sportswriter of the Year
• Natalie Niekro (Joe Niekro Foundation)- Mary Frances Veeck Woman of the Year
• William Fratto (Oakton Community College) - College Coach of the Year
• Mark Bajenski (Steven M. Bajenski Memorial Tournament) Len DiForte Amateur Baseball Service Award
• Steven Korbel (Lincoln Way Prospects) - Youth Organization of the Year
• Joliet Slammers (Frontier League Champions) Professional Organization of the Year

BANQUET TICKETS
TICKETS ARE GOING FAST. RESERVE YOURS TODAY. WE ARE ONLY 20 DAYS AWAY.

This years banquet will be held at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Tickets can be purchased at our website with a credit card. Tickets are $75 per person or a table of ten for $750.00.
Click here to purchase online.

Our next Pitch and Hit Club meeting will be WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16th

Meetings
All gatherings begin at 6:30 PM with a meal. Meeting to begin at 7 PM. There will be a Board of Directors meeting at 5:30 prior to the general meeting.

Upcoming Meeting Location: Cooms Corner 1225 E. 9 Street, Lockport.

GUEST SPEAKER - TBA

Other topics to be discussed will be:
***Voting for 2019 Officers and Board of Directors

THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST CHANCE TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THE 73rd ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET. This years banquet will be held at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Tickets can also be purchased now at our website with a credit card, pitchandhitclub.com. Tickets are $75 per person or a table of ten for $750.00. Come and meet the legendary Hawk Harrelson. Say hello to MLB Networks top analyst Dan Plesac. Talk Milwaukee Brewers baseball with bench coach Pat Murphy and top prospect Corey Ray.
Click here to purchase tickets online.

2019 Pitch & Hit Club 73rd Annual Awards Banquet -- It's time to step up to the plate and purchase your tickets. Tickets are going fast--reserve your seats.

BANQUET TICKETS

This years banquet will be held at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Tickets can be purchased at our website with a credit card, pitchandhitclub.com. Tickets are $75 per person or a table of ten for $750.00.

Tickets can be purchased using the online form below.
Questions? Please contact Bill Motluck at motluckw@sbcglobal.net or call (708) 805-1928.

Options

• Banquet Ticket - Member: $75 each
• Banquet Ticket - Non-Member: $100 each
• Banquet Ticket - Table of 10: $750 per table

Please allow 7-10 days for ticket delivery. We accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover for payment.

Our 2019 Banquet Lineup:

The Pitch & Hit Club is pleased to announce the following will be honored at our 201 Annual Awards Banquet on January 27 at the Tinley Park Convention Center.

Highlighting our honorees at the 2019 Banquet are:

• Hawk Harrelson (Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame award)
• Corey Ray-Simeon High School and the Milwaukee Brewers (Chicago Area Minor League Player of the Year)
• Pat Murphy Milwaukee Brewers (MLB Coach of the Year).
• Michael Medici (Texas Rangers) - Nick Kamzic Scout of the Year
• Sean Mason (St. Ignatius High School) - High School Coach of the Year
• Jeff Szynal (Chicago White Sox) - Lifetime Achievement Award
• Ralph Peterson (Ron Santo Inspiration Award)
• Bren Spillane (University of Illinois) College Player of the Year
• Dick Goss (Joliet Herald News) - Bill Gleason Sportswriter of the Year
• Natalie Niekro (Joe Niekro Foundation) - Mary Frances Veeck Woman of the Year
• William Fratto (Oakton Community College) - College Coach of the Year
• Mark Bajenski (Steven M. Bajenski Memorial Tournament) Len DiForte Amateur Baseball Service Award
• Steven Korbal (Lincoln Way Prospects) - Youth Organization of the Year
• Joliet Slammers (Frontier League Champions) Professional Organization of the Year

The Pitch & Hit Club is pleased to announce that Dan Plesac, will be honored at our 73rd Annual Awards Banquet on January 27 at the Tinley Park Convention Center. He will be receiving The Harry Caray Sportscaster of the Year Award.

Plesac, a three-time American League All-Star and 18-year Major League Veteran is an analyst appearing across MLB Network's programming, including the Emmy Award-winning flagship studio show MLB Tonight. Plesac has been part of MLB Network's on-air roster since in launch in 2009. Plesac, who holds a 3.64 lifetime ERA with 158 career saves, played for the Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Blue Jays, D-Backs, and Phillies. Plesac's 1,064 games pitched rank sixth in baseball history, and he remains Milwaukee's all-time leader in games pitched, and saves. Before joining MLB Network, Plesac was a studio analyst for Comcast Sportsnet's "Chicago Cubs Pre-and-Postgame Live" and a contributor to "Chicago Tribune Live". Plesac attended Crown Point High School were he excelled in baseball, basketball, football and track. Plesac played college baseball for the NC State Wolfpack in the early 1980's. He was inducted to the North Carolina State Baseball Hall-of-Fame in 2010.

Also being honored at the Banquet are Hawk Harrelson (Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame award), Ralph Peterson (Ron Santo Inspiration Award), Bren Spillane (College Player of the Year), Corey Ray (Chicago Area Minor League Player of the Year) and Pat Murphy MLB Coach of the Year).

2019 Pitch & Hit Club 73rd Annual Awards Banquet

The Pitch & Hit Club is pleased to announce Ken "Hawk" Harrelson will be inducted into our Lou Boudreau Hall-of-Fame at our 73rd Annual Awards Banquet.

Harrelson played for four teams: the Kansas City Athletics, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians.

The highlight of his playing career was 1967 when the Red Sox brought him in to replace the injured Tony Conigliaro and he helped the team win the pennant. They lost the World Series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The following year he had his finest season making the American League All-Star team and leading the league with 109 RBI's.

In his nine-season career he slammed 131 home runs and 421 RBI's.

Hawk began his broadcasting career in 1975 with the Red Sox. He served as the White Sox announcer from 1982-85, and briefly left the booth to become GM in 1986. During the 1987-88 seasons he was play-by-play man for the New York Yankees. He returned to the White Sox in 1990.

2019 Pitch & Hit Club 73rd Annual Awards Banquet

More Award Winners added:

The Pitch & Hit Club is pleased to announce that Bren Spillane, Natalie Niekro, and Ralph Peterson will be honored at our 73rd Annual Awards Banquet on January 27 at the Tinley Park Convention Center

Spillane, a Wheeling High School alum and former University of Illinois first baseman will be receiving the College Player of the Year Award.  Spillane had the best single season of any hitter in Illini history.  As a junior, Spillane put up huge numbers (.389/.498/.903) to earn 2018 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the year and Baseball America First Team All-American honors.  He was drafted 82nd overall (third round) by the Cincinnati Reds.

Natalie Niekro is the founder of the Joe Niekro Foundation committed to supporting patients and families via research, treatment, and awareness of brain aneurysms. In 2006 when her dad (Joe Niekro--22 year major league career) lost his life to a ruptured brain aneurysm and from this her passion grew to bring a great awareness to this devastating condition.

Ralph Peterson will be receiving the Ron Santo Inspiration Award.  Sadly, Ralph passed away last June.  He will be represented by his wife Cathy.  Peterson was the longtime president of Rosemoor Little League and the head baseball coach at South Shore College Prep.  Peterson devoted his life to baseball.  He never turned a kid away who couldn't afford to pay.  In 2017, he became a double-leg amputee.  Yet, against all odds, he continued coaching and working with kids on the City's far South Side.

November Meeting at Slammer's Baseball Academy

The Pitch and Hit Club wants to give a big shout-out and thank you to the Slammers Baseball Training Academy for hosting our November 3rd meeting on Saturday morning in Lake Forest. Our thanks for the talks from Neal Cotts, Gary Bennett, and Ed Tolzien (all pictured). We hope to come back and make this a regular thing and appreciate the support.

Membership

With the baseball season over, it's time to remind you to send in your 2018 dues for the Pitch and Hit Club.  DUES HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO $25.00.  Whether you are currently an active member or a past member who has been inactive, we encourage you to become a part of the club.  Click here to renew your membership.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE PITCH & HIT CLUB HAS EXPANDED ITS MEMBERSHIP FORMAT & FEE?

When the Pitch and Hit Club was organized 75 years back, the area scouts stepped up in order to stay in touch with one another and then honor their scouting  accomplishments. Soon the club added members of the front offices adding professional members from each the white sox and cubs organizations. Over the 75 years change has occurred in how each major league team has evolved with their scouting staffs. A few years ago we thought it might be a good idea to bring in some newer and innovative faces (both men and women) where we expanded our look to include the local college and high school coaches (former and present day) along with the professional staff's of the Chicagoland affiliated and independent baseball organizations, some members that are professional baseball agents and even some former and current minor and major league ball players.

Yes, things have changed, but for the good. It is time to join or re-join and see what the Pitch and Hit Club of Chicagoland is doing to day for baseball in the area.

Please note that this is far from the "good ole boys club.....It is an organization of hardworking people that want to keep the game growing and our organization growing in many beneficial ways to pass this along in the future.

With strong membership over the past few years, we have been fortunate enough to accomplish these things (a few areas are listed below) :

• College Scholarships
• Showcases for local high school player for a multitude of professional scouts.
• Donations to MLB Scouts association
• Donations to White Sox Charities
• Donations to Cubs Care
• Donations to Grandkids (part of the Curtis Granderson Foundation)
• Donations to the Chicago Food Depository

In addition to all this we lowered our yearly membership fee to $25.00 where we usually have at least 6-7 meetings a year and we serve a light meal beforehand. Honestly our fee is a steal. It is time that we share this with our friends on Facebook, Snapchat, and other social media outlets

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR OUR MEMBERSHIP FORM WHICH IS EASY TO COMPLETE.

BE PART OF A TRADTION RICH ORGANIZATION
75 YEARS STRONG & GROWING.