Manchester, NH- The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, are proud to announce that Blue Jays starting pitchers Ricky Romero and Marc Rzepczynski have joined the list of honored guests for the Granite State Baseball Dinner, presented by Northeast Delta Dental, scheduled for Saturday, November 21, at the Radisson Hotel Expo Center in downtown Manchester, NH. The two former Fisher Cats' left-handers will be joined by Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, Boston Red Sox Hall of Famers Bernie Carbo and Bob Stanley, and many more."We are very pleased to add two more current Major League pitchers to our head table at the Granite State Baseball Dinner, presented by Northeast Delta Dental," said Fisher Cats President Rick Brenner. "Ricky and Marc worked hard and persevered as Fisher Cats in order to reach their goal of pitching for the Blue Jays, and we look forward to giving our fans the opportunity to welcome them back to New Hampshire on November 21st."
Romero, 24, is one of the leading candidates for American League Rookie of the Year after compiling a record of 13-9 with a 4.30 ERA in 29 starts this season. The Blue Jays' 2005 first-round draft pick out of Cal-State Fullerton owns the Fisher Cats' franchise-record for starts with 52, including a Major League rehabilitation start at Merchantsauto.com Stadium on May 13, where he allowed just two runs -one earned- in 5.1 innings of work in a 5-4 New Hampshire victory over the Binghamton Mets. Romero registered 10 wins for the Fisher Cats between 2006 and 2008, and his 203 strikeouts rank fourth on the club's all-time list.
Rzepczynski, 24, was the winning pitcher for the Fisher Cats on Opening Day in Manchester, earning the victory in a 7-4 triumph over the New Britain Rock Cats. The lefty posted a record of 7-5 with a 2.93 ERA in 14 starts for New Hampshire, leading the Eastern League in strikeouts (88) and ranking second in innings pitched (76.2) before his promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas on June 20. After making only two starts with the 51s, Rzepczynski earned the call-up to the Blue Jays, where he went 2-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 11 starts. The Blue Jays' 2007 fifth-round draft pick out of UC Riverside made his MLB debut on July 7 at Tampa Bay and earned his first Major League victory against the Boston Red Sox on July 18 at Rogers Centre.
The Granite State Baseball Dinner, presented by Northeast Delta Dental, benefits the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD), the Ted Williams Museum and the Fisher Cats Foundation, a statewide charitable organization that provides scholarships to college-bound New Hampshire and Massachusetts high school seniors. Tickets to the dinner are $75 per person and can be purchased in person at Merchantsauto.com Stadium, by visiting www.nhfishercats.com or by calling the Fisher Cats Ticket Office at (603) 641-2005. Doors to the event open at 5:00pm with a silent auction and autograph session from 5:00-7:00pm. Dinner will be served at 7:00pm. The auction and autograph session are included in the price of the dinner ticket.
Here is an alphabetical list of the guests scheduled for the event:
GUESTS
NOTES
Jim Beattie
Former NY Yankees Pitcher & Montreal Expos General Manager
Bernie Carbo
1970 NL Rookie of the Year & Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer
Chris Carpenter
2005 NL Cy Young Award Winner/2009 NL Comeback Player of Year
Angelo Dundee
Hall of Fame Boxing Trainer/Trained Muhammad Ali
Sam Fuld
Chicago Cubs outfielder/2000 NH High School Player of Year
Rich Gale
Former Boston Red Sox, KC Royals, SF Giants & Cincinnati Reds pitcher
Joe Lefebvre
Former NY Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres outfielder
Jesse Litsch
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher & former NH Fisher Cats pitcher
Jeff Locke
MiLB pitcher for Pittsburgh Pirates & former Kennett HS Star
Jeremy Papelbon
MiLB pitcher for Chicago Cubs & younger brother of Jonathan Papelbon
Josh Papelbon
MiLB pitcher for Boston Red Sox & younger brother of Jonathan Papelbon
Mary Pratt
Former member of All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Jim Rice
National Baseball Hall of Famer & former Boston Red Sox slugger
Ricky Romero
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher & Fisher Cats all-time leader in games started
Marc Rzepczynski Toronto Blue Jays pitcher & 2009 Fisher Cats Opening Day starter
Tom Signore
2009 NH Fisher Cats Pitching Coach
Bob Stanley
Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer & Red Sox all-time leader in appearances
Bob Tewksbury
Former Yankees, Cubs, Cardinals, Rangers, Padres and Twins pitcher
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