Blue Jays Colabello Coming to Baseball Dinner

Mass. native had breakout year in first year with Toronto

October 9, 2015

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Fisher Cats Foundation have confirmed another guest for the 2015 Granite State Baseball Dinner, presented by Northeast Delta Dental. Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello will join the star-studded head table for the charity dinner on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Radisson Hotel Expo Center in downtown Manchester.

Colabello turned out to be quite a find for the Blue Jays on the waiver wire. Claimed Dec. 8 from the Twins, he began the season in Triple-A Buffalo before heading north of the border in May. As the Blue Jays surged to their first American League East Division title since 1993, Colabello was a huge contributor. In 101 games he batted .321, the best mark of his three-year big league career. He added 15 home runs, 19 doubles, and 54 RBI in just 333 at-bats.

Colabello's rise to the major leagues is truly remarkable. Undrafted out of Assumption College, he toiled for seven years playing independent baseball before signing with the Minnesota Twins in 2012. Just a year later he was in the big leagues for the Twins, playing 114 games for Minnesota between 2013-14.

Colabello was the starting first baseman in Game 2 of the Blue Jays American League Division Series with Texas today. He hit a ground-rule double and scored in his first trip to the plate in the second inning.

Colabello will join the head table along with New Hampshire legend Chris Carpenter, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., and former Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder, among others. The event begins at 5 p.m. and tickets are $80. Tickets are available at www.nhfishercats.com.

The event benefits the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the Ted Williams Foundation, and the Fisher Cats Foundation. Since 2007, the dinner has donated more than $1.28 million to these three organizations.

For more information about the charitable Granite State Baseball Dinner, presented by Northeast Delta Dental, please contact Tom Gauthier, the Fisher Cats' executive director of broadcasting and media relations, at (603) 606-4130 or visit www.nhfishercats.com. Corporate sponsorships are also available. Opening Day 2016 is Thursday, April 14 against the Trenton Thunder at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. Full and Half-Season Tickets and a complete 2016 schedule are available by visiting www.nhfishercats.com.