La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers announced today that New York Mets pitcher Victor Black will headline the team’s 12th Annual Winter BBQ, which will be held Thursday, January 22, 2015 at the Stoney Creek Inn (Onalaska).
New field manager Bill Sandillo will also appear as a featured guest, and the La Crosse Area Baseball Hall of Fame committee will announce its inaugural class of inductees.
Black made his Major League debut on July 25, 2013 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the eighth former Loggers player to reach the big leagues. Black pitched for the Loggers in the summer of 2007 and was drafted by the Pirates in the 1st Round (49th overall) in 2009. He was sent to the Mets in an August 2013 trade.
In parts of four MLB seasons, Black, 26, has appeared in 59 games (51 1/3 innings) with a 5-3 record, 2.96 ERA and one save. He will begin 2015 Spring Training on the Mets’ 40-man roster.
Sandillo will take over after Jason Nell elected to step away from the Northwoods League following the 2014 season that saw the Loggers finish below .500 (33-39) for the first time since 2007. Each of the Loggers two previous managers rank in the top ten on the all-time managerial wins list in the Northwoods League with Nell sitting at fourth with 249 career victories and Andy McKay, the Loggers skipper from 2008-2012, at eighth with 206 wins.
Sandillo brings with him a wealth of baseball experience to La Crosse having worked over 15 years in professional baseball as either a player, coach or executive, including one season in the Cape Cod Summer Collegiate League.
Tickets for the 12th Annual Winter BBQ are on sale now and may be purchased at the Loggers business office, 1225 Caledonia St., La Crosse, by calling (608) 796-9553. Cost is $15 for adults, $5 for kids 5 and under and includes a two-sandwich meal (beverages sold separately).
Media hour for the event will be from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Black, Sandillo, and Loggers front office personnel will be available for interviews. Social hour is 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and “first pitch” is at 7:05 p.m.
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The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Preparing for its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com.
