Matheny, Rosenthal to be honored at St. Louis BBWAA dinner
ST. LOUIS -- Tickets are now on sale for the 58th Annual St. Louis Baseball Writers' Dinner, which will feature appearances from several members of the 2015 National League Central division champions and a 10th-anniversary celebration of the '06 World Series-winning club.
The dinner, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 17, at the Marriott Grand Hotel in downtown St. Louis, will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Several players from the '06 group -- which won the organization's 10th World Series championship -- are slated to be in attendance, along with manager Tony La Russa. The night's highest honor -- the Red Schoendienst Medal -- will be presented to the DeWitt family, commemorating their century of service with Major League Baseball.
Bill DeWitt Jr., current chairman of the Cardinals, purchased majority ownership in the club in 1996. He had formerly invested in or served as a partial owner of the Reds and Orioles. His father, Bill DeWitt, began working for the Cardinals as a concessionaire in 1916, and he later took over as owner/general manager of the St. Louis Browns. He went on to work for the Yankees, Tigers, Reds and White Sox.
The Schoendienst Medal was established at the 2015 dinner, with former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig as its first recipient.
Additional highlights of the dinner will include a tribute to St. Louisan and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, who passed away earlier this year, and the presentation of the J.G. Taylor Spink St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year Award to co-winners Mike Matheny and Trevor Rosenthal.
As part of a new feature of the dinner, the St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year gets to choose his own dinner menu to complement the traditional menu. Matheny has selected a ribeye steak with herb butter, grilled asparagus, potatoes, Caesar salad and apple pie. Attendees wishing to have this special menu can do so for a ticket cost of $160. Tickets that include the traditional menu are $150.
Other award winners to be honored include:
• Rawlings Gold Glove recipients Yadier Molina and Carson Kelly
• Jack Herman/Joe Ostermeier Award (Rookie of the Year) winners Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty
• Bauman Physical Comeback Award winners Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia
• J. Roy Stockton/Bob Broeg Award winners for Outstanding Achievement in Baseball Michael Wacha, Matt Carpenter, Kevin Siegrist, Carlos Martinez and Mitch Harris
• Darryl Kile Award winner: Molina
• Organizational Minor League Player/Pitcher of the Year: Piscotty, Alex Reyes and Austin Gomber
Tickets for the event can be purchased online at stlouisbbwaa.com or by calling Brown Paper Tickets (1-800-838-3006). Tickets can be purchased individually or as a table of 10 for $1,500. Proceeds from the dinner are used to fund journalism scholarships and a summer internship for individuals interested in pursuing a career in sports journalism.