5TH ANNUAL GREATER CHARLOTTE HOT STOVE LEAGUE AWARDS DINNER

JANUARY 28, 2012

6:00PM

CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

HISTORY OF THE GREATER CHARLOTTE HOT STOVE LEAGUE DINNER AWARDS

High School Baseball Player of the Year 
2008 Richie Shaffer 
2009 Tyler Tewell 
2010 Brian Holberton 
2011 Brett Austin 

High School Softball Player of the Year
2008 Constance Orr
2009 Kalie Lang
2010 Jen Rosene
2011 Sarah Mooney

Youth Baseball Player of the Year 
2008 Chase Arnold
2009 Nick Salisbury 
2010 Daniel Calabretta
2011 Ryder Ryan

Youth Softball Player of the Year
2008 Erin Kayton
2009 Elena Covert
2010 Peyton Jordan
2011 Katie Williford

Scholar-Athlete of the Year 
2009 Steven Hummell l
2010 Alex Baker & Grant Fisher 
2011 Justin Hammond (Baseball)
            Caitlin Kurtz (Softball)

High School Team of the Year
2009 Ardrey Kell High Schoo
2010 Charlotte Christian
2011 Charlotte Catholic

Comeback Player of the Year
2010 Ben Boykin
2011 Michael Russell

High School Pitcher of the Year
2010 Ryan Butler
2011 Peter Hendel

York County Player of the Year
2009 Seth Neely
2010 Brad Zebidis

Youth Team of the Year
2010 Community House Middle School
2011 South Park Youth Assoc. All Stars

Lou Presutti Award
2010 Mike Shildt
2011 Garry Hill

Contributions to Youth Award
2011 Zan Copeland

Nations Baseball Team of the Year 
2011 Concord Diamond Dawgs

Nations Baseball Umpire of the Year
2011 David Bottonfield

On behalf of the Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League, I want to thank our sold out crowd for their amazing support of student-athletes on Saturday night.   In four short years, the Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner has grown from a crowd of 163 guests to just under 600 members of the baseball and softball community.  Saturday night was very special for all the student-athletes and we hope it is a night they will remember for quite sometime.

Plans are already underway for the 5th Annual Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner and we have a tentative date set of February 4, 2012. 

Additional thanks go out to the entire auction committee for their help in securing an amazing 300 items for what we believe is one of the best silent auctions in Charlotte!  Thanks CBC/ON Deck for providing such a great facility for the event!

While we consider every single finalist a winner, here are the award recipients from Saturday night.

High School Baseball Player of the Year                    Brett Austin
High School Softball Player of the Year                     Sarah Mooney
Youth Baseball Player of the Year                                Ryder Ryan
Youth Softball Player of the Year                                 Katie Williford
High School Pitcher of the Year                                    Peter Hendel
OrthoCarolina Comeback Player of the Year          Michael Russell
Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year                            Caitlin Kurtz
Baseball Scholar Athlete of the Year                           Justin Hammond
Wilson High School Team of the Year                        Charlotte Catholic
Youth Team of the Year                                                    South Park All Stars
Nations Baseball Team of the Year                              Concord Diamond Dawgs
Nations Baseball Umpire of the Year                          David Bottonfield
Coach of the Year                                                                Travis Little
Contributions to Youth Award                                       Zan Copeland
Lou Presutti Award                                                             Garry Hill

Thanks again for the amazing support we have received on this event!

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR GREATER CHARLOTTE HOT STOVE LEAGUE AWARDS

... Top youth and high school baseball and softball players and teams to be honored

A gathering of nearly 600 baseball and softball fans will occur on Saturday February, 5th for the 4th Annual Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner. This annual event brings together the top youth and high school baseball and softball players from the Greater Charlotte Metro area. In addition to 13 unique awards that will be presented and entire evening of fun will be had by all. Charlotte native Mike Shildt will deliver the key note address after dinner. Shildt is the Director of Spring Training for the St. Louis Cardinals and the manager of the Johnson City Cardinals minor league team. One of the most exciting auctions of sports items, jewelry, vacations and other items will be held prior to dinner. A group of current and former major and minor league baseball players will also be on hand to visit with guests. All fans of baseball and softball are invited to attend the 4th Annual Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner inside Carolinas Baseball Center at 6:30pm on the fifth of February. Tickets are on sale now at www.hotstovedinner.com . A limited number of tickets remain for sale and the fourth consecutive sell out is expected.

The most enjoyable aspect of the evening is the presentation of awards and recognition of the finalists. All of these teams and players have worked hard to become the very best possible players they can be. Many former winners of the awards are now playing minor league baseball or starring for their college baseball teams. The first ever winner of the High School Player of the Year Award, Richie Shaffer, played a starring role for the Clemson Tigers during their march to the College World Series this past spring.

"We are very excited to name the finalists for each award at the 4th Annual Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner," said Tripp Roakes, Co-Founder of the event. "The Greater Charlotte area is recognized across the country as one of the top areas for both youth baseball and softball. These finalists and all the players that were nominated deserve every ounce of recognition they can be given for their hard work. Success in both sports doesn't come without investing thousands of hours of practice and lots of blood, sweat and tears."

Congratulations to all these finalists


High School Player of the Year
Brett Austin
Mikal Hill
Logan Ratledge
Alex Jensen
Anthony Dimino

High School Pitcher of the Year
Peter Hendel
William Frazier
Rob Bain
Taylor Thurber
Brody Koerner

High School Team of the Year
Charlotte Catholic Baseball
Cuthbertson Baseball

Youth Baseball Player of Year
Max Wotell
Ryder Ryan
Josh Ladowski
Lamar Briggs
Sean Collins

Comeback Player of the Year
Alex Leach
Michel Russell
Caitlynn Baker
John Beaver
Taylor Rowe

Baseball Scholar Athlete
Stephen Gilmore
Justin Hammond
Matt Hedberg
Tyler Powell

Softball Scholar Athlete
Lauren Billotto
Hope Lynn Smith
Caitlin Kurtz

Youth Team of the Year
South Park 10's
Myers Park 12s
Cuthbertson Middle Softball

Nations Baseball Team of the Year
Concord Diamond Dawgs 11U
Carolina Slammers 12U
SC Storm 12U
Stix Baseball 14U

High School Softball Player of the Year
Sarah Mooney
Jessica Rappe
Stacey Houser
Stephanie Wood

Youth Softball Player of the Year
Mattie Nuccio
Haley Stewart
Erin Powers
Katie Williford
Madison Armstrong

2011 HOT STOVE LEAGUE DINNER

FEBRUARY 5th, 2011

HOSTED BY CAROLINAS BASEBALL CENTER
&
THE SOUTH CHARLOTTE SPORTS REPORT

… Celebrating the past, present and future of baseball and softball in the Greater Charlotte Area

The baseball term “hot stove” is affiliated with the time of year when those associated with America’s past time, whether it is players, managers, front office personnel and fans, discuss the summer game during the winter months.  Even before the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920, folks sat around the hot stove to debate and discuss the significance of their team’s transactions.

Even though air conditioning and furnaces have replaced the iron stove as sources of heat, the term hot stove is still quite common in baseball vernacular.  A place it is used frequently is to reference baseball banquets that take place during the off-season.  The banquets are held to celebrate the game of baseball and to reward those in the game that contribute to its success.

On February 5th, 2011, The 4th Annual Greater Charlotte Area Hot Stove League Dinner, hosted by Carolinas Baseball Center and The South Charlotte Sports Report will be held at the 50,000 square foot Carolinas Baseball Center.  This first class evening of entertainment will celebrate the growth of youth baseball and softball in the Greater Charlotte Community. 

What started as a dream for Tripp Roakes, the founder and President of South Charlotte Sports Report turned into reality with guidance and support from Jeff Schaefer, Founder of Carolinas Baseball Center.   The two combined forces to host the inaugural Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner in January 2008.  Year one found 180 baseball and softball enthusiasts gathered inside the original Carolinas Baseball Center on Westinghouse Blvd.  The crowd grew to 330 guests in 2009 and then reached 445 baseball and softball fans last January.  The 2011 event is expected to sell out with a crowd of over 500 guests.

We are honored to bring one of the most successful baseball minds Charlotte has ever met back to town this year.  Coach Mike Shildt from the St. Louis Cardinals  will deliver the keynote address for the 2011 Awards Dinner.  Shildt, a Charlotte native and winner of the 2010 Lou Pressuti Award for contributions to Charlotte baseball  serves as the Director of The St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training Facility in Jupiter, FL.  He also serves as the manager of the Johnson City Cardinals, a St. Louis minor league affiliate team.  Shildt grew up around baseball, hanging out with The Charlotte O's at the old Crockett Park where his mother Lib served as office manager.

After a successful youth sports career, Coach Shildt starred in baseball at Olympic High School and won a scholarship to UNC-Asheville.  After a helping to coach at UNC-Asheville, Shildt went on to West Charlotte High School, where he  took the team to the North Carolina State Tournament.  He then became assistant coach at UNC Charlotte and helped  take the 1998 team to its second NCAA Regional appearance in school history. 
 
In 1999, Coach Shildt decided to enter the business of baseball training and created the On Deck Baseball organization.  His concept involved a combination of a year-round indoor facility, an outdoor facility, a dedicated and experienced staff, and a novel approach to training teenagers in baseball and life. 
 
In 2004 Shildt turned the business over to the Hill family and began a successful journey into major league baseball.  In 2004 and 2005, he was an instructor with the New Jersey Cardinals, and in 2007 became a full-time coach with the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League. In 2008, he moved to the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League as hitting coach, and the next season took over as the team's manager. Mike also holds the title of Director of the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training Facility.   Mike has spent valuable time learning more about the game of baseball from  legendary St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa.
 
Coach Shildt will return home to deliver a powerful message to the baseball players and their families in the community. In addition to Coach Shildt, many other current and former major league baseball players are expected to attend the 2011 Greater Charlotte Area Hot Stove Dinner.

Twelve unique  awards will be presented to area youth baseball and softball players on this special night.  A special autograph session with current or former major and minor league baseball players will also be held prior to dinner. Vendors will display their products and one of Charlotte’s largest auctions for sports memorabilia and other exciting locally donated items will be held.

As part of the awards dinner, a college scholarship award will be presented to the top scholar athletes.

We would like to invite the Greater Charlotte community to join us for a night of baseball on February 5th, 2011.    With a new approach to the 2011 event, both new and veteran guests will enjoy the ticket pricing structure and lineup for the evening.  Tickets to the 2011 Greater Charlotte Hot Stove League Dinner are only $40 for adults and $35 for students. Reserved group tables for eight are available for only $400 and include a special VIP guest at the table.   A new Family Four Pack is being offered for early ticket purchases this year and included two adult and two student tickets for only $135.