Tigers Jim Leyland To Speak At Wild Things Hot Stove Banquet

The Washington Wild Things have announced that Jim Leyland will speak at the

Hot Stove Banquet to be held this  Thursday, January 13, 2011. It is presented by CONSOL Energy and will benefit The Washington Hospital Foundation.

Leyland is of course the former Pittsburgh Pirates manager and current manager of the Detroit Tigers, will sign autographs and speak at the event. He has managed four teams, including the Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies and Tigers, over the past 17 years. In 1997, he led the Florida Marlins to the World Series Championship. Leyland was awarded the National League Manager of the Year in 1990 and 1992 with the Pirates and received the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2006 while with the Tigers.

The event will include dinner, a chance to grab an autograph from Leyland, Kent Tekulve and Lanny Frattare. The event will also include a silent auction and both Teke and Lanny will jump behind the microphone as well. If you have ever heard Teke in a social setting, it’s something you won’t want to miss.

The best part?

All the proceeds benefit The Washington Hospital Foundation. Call the Wild Things at 866-456-WILD (9453) for tickets. What are you waiting for, get your cell out! While you have it out, be sure to give the Wild Things a Twitter follow too.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Holiday Inn Racetrack Road, Washington, Pa.
Check-in: 5:30 p.m.

Cocktails & autographs: 6 p.m.

Dinner: 7 p.m.

Tickets: $60 per person
VIP Tickets: $85 per person
(includes admission to the VIP After Party with the featured guests)

Tables and sponsorship opportunties are available.

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Also, be sure to check out the Wild Things on Facebook They have a really cool 9+1 contest going on right now and it’s very easy to enter. Check it out.

Kent Tekulve, a former Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher, All-Star and World Series Champion, played Major League Baseball for 16 years with the Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies. He saved three games during the 1979 World Series, including the series winner. Throughout his career, he saved 184 games and posted a 2.85 ERA. Tekulve also was instrumental in the start of the Wild Things franchise, serving as the team’s director of baseball operations during its first two seasons.

Lanny Frattare served as a broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 33 years, making him the longest-tenured broadcaster in that team’s history. Western Pennsylvania sports fans will recall his familiar catch phases “And there was no doubt about it!” and “Go ball, get out of here!” After his retirement from the Pirates booth, he joined Waynesburg University where he currently serves as an assistant professor of communications and as faculty advisor to the school’s radio station. In 2010, he hosted the first Sports Announcing Camp for high school students at Waynesburg, which included a trip to CONSOL Energy Park to practice broadcasting a Wild Things game.

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