Sandberg, Ruf, Pettibone at Phillies Winter Banquet

LAKEWOOD, NJ - Phillies manager and Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg highlights the annual Phillies Winter Banquet, which takes place on Wednesday, January 22^nd at Woodlake Country Club in Lakewood. Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf and pitcher Jonathan Pettibone, who were teammates with the BlueClaws in 2010, will also be in attendance.

Tickets for the event are $40 and all proceeds will benefit BlueClaws Charities and their Community Partners Program. The doors will open at 6:00 pm and the program will begin at 7:00 pm.

Event Tickets: For tickets to the event, please call JoAnne Bell at 732-901-7000 extension 100. Guests can choose between beef, chicken, and fish for their main course as part of the three-course dinner.

Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy, a Brick native and Brick Memorial High School graduate, will serve as the emcee.

Sandberg was named Phillies manager in September after serving as interim manager for the previous month. He managed Triple-A Lehigh Valley for two seasons and served as a manger in the Cubs minor league system for the previous four seasons.

He was a 2005 inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after a 15-year Major League career which included 10 All-Star Game appearances, nine Gold Gloves, seven Silver Slugger Awards, and the 1984 National League MVP. Sandberg was originally a 20^th round pick of the Phillies in the 1978 draft and was traded to the Cubs following the 1981 season.

Ruf was a 20^th round pick of the Phillies in 2009 from Creighton University and began the 2010 season with the BlueClaws. In 32 games with Lakewood, he hit .330 with four home runs before a May 13^th promotion to Clearwater. He went 5-5 on May 12^th at Greenville in his final game with the BlueClaws, and is one of just seven BlueClaws ever to record five hits in a game. With Reading in 2012, he hit 38 home runs to lead all of Minor League Baseball and made his big league debut that September. This year, he played 47 games with Lehigh Valley and 73 with the Phillies, hitting .247 with 14 home runs.

Pettibone was a 3^rd round pick of the Phillies in 2008 and spent 2010 with the BlueClaws, going 8-6 with a 3.49 ERA. He was the winning pitcher in the clinching game of both the South Atlantic League Division Series against Hickory (game three in a best of three series) and the SAL Championship Series against Greenville (game four in a best of five series). He was an All-Star with Clearwater in 2011 before splitting 2012 between Reading and Lehigh Valley. He made his big league debut in 2013, going 5-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 18 starts with the Phillies.

BlueClaws Charities, the official non-profit foundation of the Lakewood BlueClaws, works with over 40 area 501c3 organizations through their Community Partners Program. These organizations raise money through the BlueClaws and benefit through events such as this one, "Bowling With the BlueClaws," or the "BlueClaws Charities Nine and Dine Golf Outing," plus jersey auctions and other fundraisers throughout the year.

- BlueClaws Charities -