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SHARE A MAJOR LEAGUE EXPERIENCE WITH US
at
SASKATOON MINOR BASEBALL'S
 "BIG LEAGUE DREAMS" BANQUET 

A fund-raiser to support minor baseball facility improvement
and
a future indoor training facility for ball players.

Featuring  Toronto Blue Jays  players

Brett Lawrie	JP Arencibia	Travis Snider

Thursday, November 3, 2011, Radisson Hotel

Autograph Session:  5:15 p.m.
Cocktails:  6:30 p.m.
Banquet:  7:30 p.m.

Live auction of MLB memorabilia to follow the banquet, plus a Silent Auction

Individual tickets:  $85
Table of 10:  $850
Corporate VIP Table of 10:  $1,000

How can I buy tickets?

• Order on-line
   
• In-person at Al Anderson's Source for Sports, 208 Avenue B South.
   
• Corporate VIP tables can be ordered on-line or by phone (270-4051 or 373-0962)

 Please promote this event to your friends on Facebook and Twitter 

Additional Information

• More on ticket purchase and pick-up
   
• Our featured guests
   
• Why this event?

MORE ON TICKET PURCHASE AND PICKUP (back)
Corporate VIP tables will be provided with premiere seating along with 10 autographed balls and, if desired, table signage. Once the table order has been placed, you will be contacted to arrange delivery of your tickets.

Non-corporate table ticket orders can be picked up 2 days after purchase at Al Anderson's Source for Sports, 205 Avenue B South, Saskatoon or can be picked up at the banquet reception table at the Radisson hotel on the night of the banquet.

Tickets ordered on-line using the invoicing option can be picked up at Al Anderson's 2 days after payment is received (an email confirmation will be sent to the purchaser), at 709 Cumberland Avenue South, or at the banquet reception table on the night of the banquet.

Paying by cheque? Cheques, payable to Saskatoon Minor Baseball, should be mailed or delivered to 709 Cumberland South, Saskatoon, S7H 2L5.

OUR FEATURED GUESTS (back)
Brett Lawrie (b. 1990), Blue Jays third baseman, comes from Langley, B.C. In 2008, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers (16th position overall), the highest draft position by any Canadian player. He played on the Canadian Junior National Team at the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship where he led the tournament with a .469 average, three home runs and 16 RBIs. He was also on the Canadian team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and played for Canada again in the 2009 World Baseball Classic held at the Rogers Centre, Toronto. During 2010, he played second base for Huntsville in the AA Southern League where he led the league in hits (158), triples (16), runs (90) and extra-base hits (60) in 2010, while being the second youngest regular player in the league. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in December, 2010 and was ranked No. 28 among the Top 50 Prospects by MLB.com entering 2011 season. He made his MLB debut on August 5, 2011.

"Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie showed plenty of late season spark in his first season, hitting .293 with nine homers, 25 RBIs, 26 runs scored and seven steals." He is considered by many as the Blue Jays most exciting player in 2011.

JP (Jonathan Paul) Arencibia, Blue Jays starting catcher, was born in 1986 in Miami, FL. He played college ball at the University of Tennessee where he ranks third in UT history in total bases (381), 4th in RBIs (165), tied for 5th in home runs (33), tied for 6th in doubles (48), and 7th in hits (230). He was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (21st overall) of the 2007 Draft. in 2007, his first professional season, he played for the New York Penn-League champion Auburn Doubledays; split his 2008 season between Class A Advanced Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire; and spent the entire 2009 season with Triple-A team Las Vegas.

He was named Pacific Conference MVP in 2010 after batting .301 with 32 home runs and 85 RBIs. In his Major League debut on Aug. 7, 2010 against the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit the first pitch he saw for a home run off James Shields .

Now starting catcher for the Blue Jays, JP Arencibia showed surprising power in 2011, hitting 23 home runs to go along with 78 RBIs, 47 runs scored, one stolen base and a .219 batting average. A strong supporter of minor baseball, he participated in the Blue Jays Winter Tour 2011, making appearances in all four stops (Scarborough, Kitchener/Waterloo, Calgary, and Vancouver).

Travis Snider (b. 1988), Blue Jays outfielder, is from Everett, Washington and began his professional career in 2006 with the Pulaski Blue Jays in the Appalachian League. He began the 2008 season with the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League, later being promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League. In August, the Blue Jays moved Snider to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. After playing only 18 games with Syracuse, he was called up to make his MLB debut on August 29, 2008 with the Blue Jays, playing left field and becoming the youngest position player in the majors. After his first season with Toronto, he finished hitting .301 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games.

After a prolonged hitting slump, he was sent back to Triple-A Las Vegas in May, 2009, but was recalled in August and hit a home run in his next at-bat. In a game against the New York Yankees, he became the first Blue Jays player since 1978 to hit 2 doubles in one inning which contributed to the Blue Jays equalling the American League record of 6 doubles in one inning.

An opening season batting average of .184 led Snider being optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in April, 2011. In early July he was recalled by the Blue Jays and before being returned to Las Vegas a month later, had a career best of earning 5 RBIs in games against the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners. His 2011 season ended when he was diagnosed with tendinitis in his right wrist in late August.

WHY THIS EVENT? (back)
Saskatoon Minor Baseball supports and follows the Long Term Athlete Development philosophy and programming proposed by Baseball Canada and Baseball Saskatchewan. The baseball programs for the younger age divisions are heavily weighted towards skill development so that the players are prepared for the more intense competition that occurs at the Bantam and Midget levels of play.

Planning for an indoor training facility for ball players at all levels fits Saskatoon Minor Baseball's mission of maximizing opportunities for player development. It will provide an optimal training environment for players year round and enhance the development of both Saskatoon's elite and grassroots players. Outdoor training facilities are also important and provision of well-equipped ball fields that allow quality play and batting cages for hitting and pitching development have high priority in its facility enhancement program.

This event signals the beginning of a fund-raising campaign to achieve these goals. Some examples of improvements projected for our existing facilities include scoreboards at the Geoff Hughes Pee Wee Park, one of the best Pee Wee facilities in the province, and (we hope) to be the site of the 2012 Baseball Canada Pee Wee Western Regional Championship, and at the Kilburn Mosquito Park. A two-lane batting cage to complement the new batting cage build this year at the Pee Wee Park and, less exciting but essential for quality play, improvements to fencing at the two parks used by the Mosquito Division Kilburn Park, to dugouts at the Nutana Bantam Fields and a program to start replacing shale infields with grass. Further in the future, another major project will be working with the City to build a new Bantam field complex, a project planned to commence within the next five years.

Our overall objective is to partner with the City of Saskatoon to provide facilities that can attract national events as well as have quality playing fields available for all levels of baseball in Saskatoon.