Madison, WI – April 24, 2012.  The Madison Mallards are again hosting the West Bend MLB/Mallards Alumni game.  The game is going to be played on August 4th with a 7:05 pm start time.  Gates for the event will open at 4:30 pm.  Headlining the event this year are former Major League Baseball stars Lee Smith, George Foster, Rob Deer, and Ben Oglivie.

Smith enjoyed an 18 year Major League career for eight different teams.  He is one of baseball’s greatest closers and held the Major League record for saves from 1993-2006 with 478.  He was a 7-time All-Star and finished with 1,022 appearances, a 3.03 ERA and 1,251 strikeouts.

 He was drafted in 1975 by the Chicago Cubs and is still their career saves leader.  In all he pitched for the Cubs (1980-1987), Boston Red Sox (1988-1990), St. Louis Cardinals (1990-1993), New York Yankees (1993), Baltimore Orioles (1994), California Angels (1995-1996), Cincinnati Reds (1996), and Montreal Expos (1997).

Foster played in the big leagues as an outfielder from 1969-1986 for four different clubs.  He started his career with the San Francisco Giants but was traded in 1971 to the Cincinnati Reds.  He played for the Reds from 1971-1981 and was a National League All-Star five times during that span.  He won the 1977 NL MVP after hitting 52 home runs and driving in 149 runs.  He led the majors in home runs in 1977 and 1978, RBIs from 1976-1978, and OPS in 1977.  He won two World Series titles in 1975 and 1976 as part of the Reds “Big Red Machine.” 

He also played for the New York Mets (1982-1986) and Chicago White Sox (1986).  In his career he had a .274 batting average, 348 home runs, 1,239 RBIs, 1,925 hits, 986 runs scored and played in 1,977 games.

Deer was drafted in the 4th round of the 1978 draft by the San Francisco Giants.  He played outfield for 10 seasons in the majors for five different clubs.  He finished his career with a .220 average, 230 home runs and 600 RBIs.  In 1987 he hit a game-tying home run on Easter Sunday to give the Milwaukee Brewers their twelfth straight win to start the season.  That home run landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  

He played for the Giants (1984-1985), Brewers (1986-1990), Detroit Tigers (1991-1993), Boston Red Sox (1993), and San Diego Padres (1996).

Oglivie played left field for 16 seasons for three different teams in the 1970’s and 80’s.  He had a .273 batting average, 235 home runs, and 901 RBIs in 1,754 games while playing for the Boston Red Sox (1971-1973), Detroit Tigers (1973-1977), and Milwaukee Brewers (1978-1986).

He was a 3-time All-Star and became the first non-U.S. born player to lead the American League in home runs when he belted 41 in 1980.  Oglivie is originally from Colon, Panama.

The Mallards will host the event for the seventh consecutive year.  Players such as Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Harmon Killebrew, Rollie Fingers, and Fergie Jenkins have all been a part of the game in the past.  The Mallards created the game in 2006 as a way to continue the relationship with former Mallards, as well as give Mallards fans the opportunity to meet their childhood baseball heroes.

The Mallards will host their season opener against the Battle Creek Bombers on May 30th at 7:05 pm at the “Duck Pond.”  7-Game Packs, season, and group tickets are on sale now!  Single-game tickets go on sale April 28th.

The Madison Mallards are part of the 16-team Northwoods League.  The Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate Baseball League in North America.