Giants Skipper Bruce Bochy Headlines Hot Stove Banquet To Benefit Flying Squirrels Charities
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are excited to announce that three-time World Series Champion and current Manager of the San Francisco Giants Bruce Bochy will be the keynote speaker for the Flying Squirrels 7th Annual Charity Hot Stove Banquet to be held on Thursday, February 2nd at the Siegel Center. Bochy, 61, has become synonymous with the Giants success and his 1,789 wins are the most among active MLB managers. The iconic skipper will be joined by a lineup of baseball celebrities that will be announced at a later date. Bochy and celebrity guests are scheduled to sign autographs as well as partake in the event festivities. The Hot Stove Banquet is presented by the Performance Food Group and a timeline of the events are listed below. Tickets are available for purchase online with proceeds benefiting Flying Squirrels Charities and Renovating Richmond's Recreation project.
"For Boch to take a few days to fly across the country to help us is humbling to say the least," Flying Squirrels VP & COO Todd "Parney" Parnell stated. "He is a Hall of Fame caliber manager and an even better person."
Seventh Annual Hot Stove Banquet Itinerary
- 4:30pm-5:30 pm: VIP reception in Tommy J. West Club - for table sponsors and celebrity guests
- 6:00pm-7:00pm: Autograph session & silent auction in main arena - all guests are invited
- 7:00pm-8:00pm: Dinner and program (plated dinner - garden salad, rolls, lemon herb chicken, rice pilaf, roasted asparagus, assorted dessert trays on each table)
- Immediately following event - Post event party, location TBD
The Hot Stove Banquet will also feature the presentation of the annual Paul Keyes Richmond Baseball Impact Award. Previous award winners include Tracy Woodson, Gene Alley, Johnny Grubb, Eddie Kasko, Sam Ayoub and Cla Meredith. The Paul Keyes Richmond Baseball Impact Award is given annually in honor of the late VCU Baseball Manager Paul Keyes. Additional baseball dignitaries attending the event include the President of Minor League Baseball Pat O'Connor and Eastern League President Joe McEacharn.
Previous Hot Stove Headliners
- Lee Smith (2016)
- Gaylord Perry (2015)
- Dave Dravecky (2014)
- Will Clark (2013)
- Bill Buckner (2012)
- Tommy John (2011)
About Bruce Bochy
The Two-time National League Manager of the Year was named the 38th manager in Giants franchise history, and 16th in San Francisco annals, Oct. 27, 2006. His 1,789 victories are the highest total by an active manager and he ranks 15th on the all-time list. He leads active managers in consecutive years managed (22) and has compiled a 1,789-1,757 (.505) career ledger in 22 seasons as a Major League skipper. Bochy is the winningest foreign-born manager in ML history, having moved past former Giants skipper Felipe Alou in 2008.
He has guided the Giants to three World Championships (2010, 2012, 2014) and is one of 10 managers to win at least three World Series titles. The other nine are all in the Hall of Fame. In 2014, Bochy became just the fifth manager to lead a team to three titles in a five year span joining Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel and Joe Torre. Bochy is the second manager in Giants franchise history to win three World Series Championships, joining John McGraw (1905,1921, 1922). His four World Series appearances as a manager (1998, 2010, 2012, 2014) are the most among all active managers in Major League Baseball. The Giants have won 11 of their 12 postseason series in Bochy's tenure. From 2010-2016 he won 11 straight postseason rounds, which tied Joe Torre (Yankees, 1998-2001) for the longest streak ever by a manager. His eight postseason appearances are tied with Dusty Baker for the most among current ML skippers.
Bochy logged a 24-year affiliation with Padres organization from 1983-2006 and guided his Padres clubs to five winning campaigns, including 1996, 1998, 2005 and 2006 NL West titles. He is the winningest manager in Padres franchise history, having recorded 951 victories during 12 years in San Diego. The former catcher was the only Friar Manager to have played for the club, spending parts of five seasons in San Diego as a player. In 2006, he guided the Padres to back-to-back playoff berths for the first time in franchise history, as the Friars won their second consecutive NL West title.
The former catcher spent parts of nine Major League seasons with Houston (1978-80), New York Mets (1982) and San Diego (1983-87) and compiled a lifetime .239 batting average with 26 HRs and 93 RBI in 358 career games. He guided pitchers to a career 3.87 ERA in 298 contests behind the plate (1,930.0 innings) and threw out 28.6 pct. of attempted base-stealers (88-of-308). Bochy made his ML debut July 18, 1978 in an Astros uniform, going 2-for-3 at Shea Stadium and belted his first big league home run the following day, a solo shot off Mets' Kevin Kobel in the second game of a doubleheader. He enjoyed his best season in 1986 with Padres, setting personal bests in HRs (8), RBI (22), games played(63) and starts behind plate (29).
Proceeds from this year's event will benefit Flying Squirrels Charities, a nonprofit 501(C)(3) founded in 2014 and dedicated to improving the Richmond community through the Flying Squirrels. Table Sponsorships and tickets for the seventh annual hot stove are available online or by calling the Flying Squirrels at (804) 359-3866. The Flying Squirrels 2017 home schedule begins April 6 at 7:05 p.m. against the Hartford Yard Goats. Season tickets, mini plans and group packages are currently available by contacting the box office at 804-359-FUNN or online at www.squirrelsbaseball.com.