SHOREBIRDS SET DATE FOR ANNUAL “HOT STOVE BANQUET”

Former Orioles Infielder Mike Bordick to Deliver Keynote Speech

Salisbury, Md. – The Delmarva Shorebirds will hold their 10^th annual “Hot Stove Banquet” on Sunday, January 30 at the Fountains Wedding & Conference Center in Salisbury.  The festivities will begin with a cocktail hour from 4-5 p.m.  Dinner and the rest of the scheduled events will follow the cocktail hour.  Mike Bordick, who spent 14 years in the major leagues, will be the keynote speaker.  The banquet will also feature a buffet dinner, silent auction, raffles and additional speakers.   

In addition to Bordick, the 2011 Hot Stove Banquet will feature speeches by 2010 Shorebirds manager Ryan Minor and former Shorebirds manager Gary Kendall.  Shorebirds general manager Chris Bitters will also talk about the upcoming 2011 season and Orioles assistant director of player development Tripp Norton will be on hand to discuss the 2011 Orioles and the minor league system.  Further, 7^th Inning Stretch, L.P. president Pat Filipone will be in attendance to talk with fans and answer questions. 

“The hot stove banquet is always a fun event that serves as our ‘kick off’ party for the new season,” said general manager Chris Bitters.  “The hospitality and food at the Fountains Wedding & Conference Center combined with the wealth of baseball knowledge and experience of our speakers should make the 10^th annual event a blast.”

Tickets for the Hot Stove Banquet can be purchased now by calling the Shorebirds at 410-219-3112.  Tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis.  Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets well in advance due to space restrictions.  Individual tickets are $40 per person while group/company tickets are $280 for a sponsored table of eight people. 

Speakers

Bordick, who currently serves as the instructor of minor league offense for the Orioles, played in the major leagues from 1990 through 2003.  The Milwaukee native played for the Orioles from 1997-2000 and 2001-02.  Over his 14-year career, Bordick played in 1,720 big league games and recorded 626 RBIs.  Bordick possesses a lifetime batting average of .260.  His finest season was 2000, when he was named to the American League All-Star team.  His career included stops in Oakland, Baltimore, New York (Mets) and Toronto.  Bordick may best be remembered for his prowess with the glove.  He owns the Orioles record for consecutive error-less games (110) and error-less chances by a shortstop (543).  

Minor has spent the last three seasons on the coaching staff in Delmarva.  The former Orioles infielder was the hitting coach in 2008 and 2009 before earning a promotion to manager in 2010.  In 1997, Minor supplanted his legacy on Delmarva by tearing apart the South Atlantic League as the Shorebirds third baseman.  He hit .307 with 24 home runs and 97 RBIs en route to being named a South Atlantic League All-Star.    

Kendall managed the Shorebirds from 2005 through the 2007 season and stands as the last skipper to guide the Shorebirds to the SAL playoffs (2005).  He won 204 games in his three years as a manager in Delmarva, second most in franchise history (Joe Ferguson, 217).  Kendall has spent the last three seasons in the same role for the Aberdeen Ironbirds. 

Norton serves under President of Baseball Operations, Andy MacPhail.  Norton has been tied very closely to the Orioles minor league system for many years. 

The marquee items in the silent auction will include: a Matt Wieters signed Orioles home jersey, a Brian Roberts autographed Orioles road jersey, an Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals) signed puck and much more. 

In conjunction with the 2011 “Strike Out Hunger” All-Star Game presented by Perdue, all hot stove banquet attendees are encouraged to bring a non-perishable canned food item to be donated to the food banks along the Eastern Shore.  The Shorebirds will give away a courtesy raffle ticket for each non-perishable item received. 

All the proceeds from the hot stove banquet will benefit the Shorebirds Community Fund and the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore. 

The United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore is one of the largest funded non-profit health and human services programs on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The United Way directly supports 51 local programs provided by 24 different non-profit agencies. These programs vary from Meals on Wheels for homebound seniors to funding for the Salvation Army and Easter Seals. The United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore is making a critical difference for those in need and the Delmarva Shorebirds are glad they can do their part to help.

The Fountains Wedding & Conference Center is located at 1800 Sweetbay Drive off Route 50 in Salisbury.  To learn more about the venue, click here.