The Toronto Blue Jays had a lot of highlights in their heyday, and they’ll share some of those stories with sports fans in Nanaimo.
Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar will headline An All-Star Evening, a fundraiser banquet later this summer at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
The two-time World Series champion will be joined by Duane Ward, a pitcher with those Jays championship teams of 1992-93; Lloyd Moseby, an MLB all-star in 1986; and Sandy Alomar, Sr., Roberto’s father and an all-star in 1970.
The Nanaimo Minor Baseball Association is hosting the event. The association first connected with Robbie Alomar in 2013, when he was in Nanaimo for a baseball camp, and upon learning he was returning to the Island for a camp in Victoria, they were able to set up the fundraiser evening.
Mike Holyk, president of Nanaimo minor baseball, said Robbie Alomar is a real gentleman.
“He’s a fantastic guy, Canada’s really embraced him and I think he’s decided that, ‘hey, you know what? I can make a little impact in this country with youth and youth baseball,’” Holyk said.
“His ability to sit down with a six-year-old baseball player and kind of pass along his knowledge and love of the game is one of those special traits that only a few people of his stature provide.”
The July 11 event is a fundraiser for Alomar’s Foundation 12 and for Nanaimo minor baseball. Tickets cost $85 and are available at www.baseballnanaimo.com or at Kirby’s Source for Sports.
For more information about the event, please e-mail michael.holyk@bnc.ca.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
