Tickets remain for 2012 Houston Baseball Dinner benefiting Grand Slam For Youth Baseball

Tickets are still available for the 2012 Houston Baseball Dinner Benefiting Grand Slam For Youth Baseball's Scholarship Program, which will include a special celebration of the Astros 50th Anniversary.

2012 will mark the 27th season of the popular dinner, which will take place on Friday, February 10 at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Americas Hotel in downtown Houston.  The event is sponsored by the Astros In Action Foundation and Minute Maid, with proceeds benefiting the Grand Slam For Youth Baseball Scholarship Program.

In addition to honoring the top players from the 2011 ballclub, this year's dinner will include a special 50th Anniversary tribute featuring Astros Hall of Fame broadcaster Milo Hamilton and a long list of former Astros team MVPs, including Bob Watson, J.R. Richard, Jimmy Wynn, Larry Dierker, Jose Cruz, Enos Cabell, Bob Aspromonte and more.  Phil Garner, manager of the 2005 NL Champion Astros, will also be in attendance. Members of the 2011 Astros scheduled to attend include J.D. Martinez (Rookie of the Year), Wandy Rodriguez (Pitcher of the Year) and Jason Bourgeois (Darryl Kile Award) and manager Brad Mills.  Former Astros Hunter Pence (2011 MVP) and Lance Berkman (Houston Area Player of the Year) will also be recognized at the event, but are unable to attend.   

Additionally, longtime Astros television broadcaster Bill Brown will receive the Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball. 2011 marked Brown's 25th season as the Astros play-by-play TV voice.

Houston Baseball Dinner co-founder Ivy McLemore, a long-time baseball writer who currently serves as a MLB official scorer, will receive the Allen Russell Distinguished Achievement Award. Brazoswood's Bobby Williams will receive the Ray Knoblauch Award as the area's outstanding high school coach in 2011.

2012 GREATER HOUSTON AREA PRESEASON HIGH SCHOOL TEAM, COLLEGE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The event will also include the annual introduction of the 16-member All-Greater Houston Preseason High School Team as well as the Greater Houston Area's Preseason College Player of the Year. Members of the Preseason High School team are as follows: SS Geonte Jackson, Fort Bend Elkins High School; 1B Austin Dean, Klein Collins High School; C Hunter Kopycinski, St. Thomas High School; RHP Kevin McCanna, The Woodlands High School; IF Leon Byrd, Cypress Ranch High School; OF Billy 'Nick' Williams, Galveston Ball High School; RHP Grayson Long, Barbers Hill High School; C-OF Boomer White, Memorial High School; RHP Holden Helmink, Willis High School;  RHP Chris Lanham, Lamar High School; OF Jesse Baker, Brenham High School; IF Dalton Perry, Brazoswood High School; C Cameron Burns, Bellaire High School; RHP Blake Fox, Episcopal High School; IF Billy Arendt, Second Baptist High School; LHP-1B Hayden Jones, Langham Creek High School.

The Preseason College Player of the Year, who will also be recognized at the dinner, will be selected later this month.

SPECIAL VIP RECEPTION, SILENT AUCTION

As part of the 50th Anniversary celebration, a special VIP reception will be held prior to the dinner, at 6 p.m.,
and will feature several of the former MVPs and current Astros players. A limited amount of MVP tables for 10 that will include tickets to the dinner and the VIP reception will be available for purchase for $2,500.  

Dinner attendees will also have the opportunity to bid on several attractive items at a silent auction, with those proceeds also going to the GSFYB Scholarship Program.

Tickets for the dinner are priced at $100 each or at $1,000 for a table of 10, and can be purchased online at
www.astros.com/baseballdinner or by calling Jo Russell at 713-789-0626. General information on the dinner is available at www.gsfyb.org, via email at [email protected] or by calling 713-259-8686.