Mike Marjama set to Headline 16th Winter Baseball BBQ on Jan. 24

LA CROSSE, WIS. — The La Crosse Loggers Baseball Club announced today that one of their own is returning as the featured guest for its 16th annual Winter Baseball BBQ, to be held at the La Crosse AmericInn Hotel and Conference Center on Thursday, January 24. The Loggers are thrilled to welcome back former La Crosse Loggers and Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Marjama to headline the annual event, that will also feature inductions into the La Crosse Area Baseball Hall of Fame.

Marjama was named the 2010 La Crosse Loggers most valuable player, after he hit .286 with ten doubles, two home runs and drove in a team-best 37 runs along with stealing 15 bases following his sophomore season at Sacramento City College. Following that summer in the Northwoods League, in which he was also selected to the mid-season All Star Game, Marjama played one season at Long Beach State University before being selected in the 23rd round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox.

The Granite Bay, Calif. native would spend four seasons in the White Sox farm system before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015. Just two seasons later, Marjama was then shipped to the Seattle Mariners as part of a multi-player trade and went on to make his major league debut on September 3, 2017, making him the 15th former Loggers player to make it to the big leagues. Marjama would hit .333 over five games with the Mariners at the end of that 2017 season, and came back in 2018 as Seattle’s opening day starting catcher.

After seeing action in ten games with the Mariners in 2018, Marjama retired from the game of baseball on July 6 to accept a role as Ambassador of the National Eating Disorder Association. Struggles with eating disorders first surfaced for Marjama in 7th grade, culminating in hospitalization and inpatient treatment during his junior year of high school. Marjama’s recovery led him on an amazing journey playing baseball around the country, eventually making his Major League debut at the age of 28 in September of 2017. This past winter, LeBron James’ Uninterrupted produced and filmed the mini-documentary “Marj”, detailing Marjama’s story, which premiered exclusively on ABC’s Good Morning America on the Eve of MLB’s Opening Day. Today, Marjama is passionate about speaking openly about his struggles to inspire others, especially men and boys, to seek the help and support they deserve and he is excited to return to La Crosse to share his story at the Loggers 16th Winter Baseball BBQ.

Tickets for the 16th Annual Winter Baseball BBQ are on sale now at the Loggers ticket office (1225 Caledonia Street, La Crosse), by calling (608) 796-9553, or purchase tickets online here. Adults can gain admission to the program for just $15, while kids 12 & under can join in the festivities for just $5. All tickets include a ballpark-style meal and the Winter Baseball BBQ program. Doors will open to the public at 6 p.m. for a social hour, followed by the program at 7:05 p.m.

The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC), Brandon Crawford (SFG) and Chris Sale (BOS). As well as MLB All-Stars Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIL). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.comor download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.

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