Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
MSU Baseball Gets 2024 Season Going With 18th Annual First Pitch Dinner Saturday
2/4/2024 6:22:00 PM | Baseball
Annual event drew another large, spirited crowd to honor Dr. Tom Dieters as Alumnus of Year, Robert Wuhl as keynote speaker.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball hosted its 18th-annual First Pitch Dinner Sunday afternoon at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, filling the ballroom with approximately 450 spirited Spartans fans.
This year's event featured actor, comedian and Emmy Award-winning writer Robert Wuhl as the keynote speaker, while honoring Dr. Tom Dieters as the Alumnus of the Year.
"It's always a great day and it was awesome to see 400-plus people come out to support our guys. I thought our keynote speaker Robert Wuhl did a great job and had some awesome stories. It was our extreme honor to be able to present Tom Dieters with his Alumnus of the Year Award," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "It's just another sign that the season is getting extremely close, so we're all excited."
ÂGallery: (2-4-2024) 2024 MSU Baseball First Pitch Dinner
Sunday's event started with fans collecting autographs from the players on the 2024 season poster, baseball and other memorabilia, along with bidding on silent auction items. Then, the 2024 Spartan roster was introduced by the master of ceremonies, Jim Cotter, followed by an invocation by former Spartan pitcher Caleb Sleeman, before the meal was served.Â
After the meal, Boss addressed the crowd, introducing his staff, the Spartan parents, and the former Spartan baseball alumni in attendance, before introducing Dieters and presenting him with the Alumnus of the Year award. Dieters then spoke, thanking Coach Boss, and Dieters also thanked his teammates and the other fellow Spartan baseball alumni in attendance.
"I'm very humbled and extremely honored to receive this award," Dieters said in his acceptance speech, along with some advice to the current team. "You don't always remember the games or the scores from the games, but you do remember the memories you make with your teammates."
Dieters was a four-year letterwinner on the Spartan baseball team from 1980-83, earning his bachelor's degree from MSU in 1983. He is a recipient of the Jack Breslin Lifetime Achievement Award Winner by the MSU Varsity S Club. Dieters is also the founder of "This is Sparta" NIL collective, as well as the Board President at Charitable Gift America. He is also President of Thomas Mitchell & Associates.
Following Dieters, Wuhl addressed the crowd, talking about how big of baseball fan he is and how much he loves the game, having been to 29 of the 30 Major League Baseball ballparks, with only Tampa Bay the lone one yet to make it to. He took questions and told stories to entertain the crowd.
"Today was great, I had a great time. The audience was very kind," Wuhl said. "I had a terrific experience and highly recommend this event for anyone in the future. It's talking baseball, that's always fun."
Click Here for Highlights from WILX-TV
Wuhl has starred in multiple movies including Bull Durham, Cobb, The Hollywood Knights, Batman and Good Morning Vietnam, as well as the creator and star of the television comedy series Arliss. He is good friends with last year's keynote speaker and MSU alum Timothy Busfield, who referred Wuhl for this year's event. Wuhl's uncle is also a Michigan State alum.
Michigan State opens its 2024 season in the Swig and Swine Classic at Shipyard Park in Charleston, S.C. The Spartans face Merrimack in the season-opener on Friday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. ET. The Spartans then play a twinbill against Seton Hall and Lehigh on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. MSU wraps up the opening weekend on Sunday, Feb. 18 battling Ball State at 9 a.m.
The Spartans' weekend schedule is subject to change, fans can visit msuspartans.com for complete schedule information and updates.
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This year's event featured actor, comedian and Emmy Award-winning writer Robert Wuhl as the keynote speaker, while honoring Dr. Tom Dieters as the Alumnus of the Year.
"It's always a great day and it was awesome to see 400-plus people come out to support our guys. I thought our keynote speaker Robert Wuhl did a great job and had some awesome stories. It was our extreme honor to be able to present Tom Dieters with his Alumnus of the Year Award," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "It's just another sign that the season is getting extremely close, so we're all excited."
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Sunday's event started with fans collecting autographs from the players on the 2024 season poster, baseball and other memorabilia, along with bidding on silent auction items. Then, the 2024 Spartan roster was introduced by the master of ceremonies, Jim Cotter, followed by an invocation by former Spartan pitcher Caleb Sleeman, before the meal was served.Â
After the meal, Boss addressed the crowd, introducing his staff, the Spartan parents, and the former Spartan baseball alumni in attendance, before introducing Dieters and presenting him with the Alumnus of the Year award. Dieters then spoke, thanking Coach Boss, and Dieters also thanked his teammates and the other fellow Spartan baseball alumni in attendance.
"I'm very humbled and extremely honored to receive this award," Dieters said in his acceptance speech, along with some advice to the current team. "You don't always remember the games or the scores from the games, but you do remember the memories you make with your teammates."
Dieters was a four-year letterwinner on the Spartan baseball team from 1980-83, earning his bachelor's degree from MSU in 1983. He is a recipient of the Jack Breslin Lifetime Achievement Award Winner by the MSU Varsity S Club. Dieters is also the founder of "This is Sparta" NIL collective, as well as the Board President at Charitable Gift America. He is also President of Thomas Mitchell & Associates.
Following Dieters, Wuhl addressed the crowd, talking about how big of baseball fan he is and how much he loves the game, having been to 29 of the 30 Major League Baseball ballparks, with only Tampa Bay the lone one yet to make it to. He took questions and told stories to entertain the crowd.
"Today was great, I had a great time. The audience was very kind," Wuhl said. "I had a terrific experience and highly recommend this event for anyone in the future. It's talking baseball, that's always fun."
Click Here for Highlights from WILX-TV
Wuhl has starred in multiple movies including Bull Durham, Cobb, The Hollywood Knights, Batman and Good Morning Vietnam, as well as the creator and star of the television comedy series Arliss. He is good friends with last year's keynote speaker and MSU alum Timothy Busfield, who referred Wuhl for this year's event. Wuhl's uncle is also a Michigan State alum.
Michigan State opens its 2024 season in the Swig and Swine Classic at Shipyard Park in Charleston, S.C. The Spartans face Merrimack in the season-opener on Friday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. ET. The Spartans then play a twinbill against Seton Hall and Lehigh on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. MSU wraps up the opening weekend on Sunday, Feb. 18 battling Ball State at 9 a.m.
The Spartans' weekend schedule is subject to change, fans can visit msuspartans.com for complete schedule information and updates.
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