St. Cloud, MN – The St. Cloud Rox are pleased to announce that Major League Baseball World Series champion and former Minnesota Twins pitcher Juan Berenguer will be in attendance as this year’s opening night guest.

Berenguer, a two-time World Series champion who is well known by his nickname of “Señor Smoke,” will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the home opener presented by Coborn’s at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, June 1 at Joe Faber Field as the Rox take on the Mankato MoonDogs.

In addition to throwing out the first pitch prior to the game, Berenguer will be signing autographs and taking pictures with fans throughout the home opener, which will feature post-game fireworks extravaganza. The first 2,000 fans to the game will also receive a 2018 Rox magnet schedule.

Berenguer, who played 15 years in the MLB, broke into the league in 1978 with the New York Mets after signing as an amateur free agent, making his debut on the mound on Aug. 17, 1978 against the San Diego Padres. Berenguer went on to play three seasons with the Mets, one year with both the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays, four years with the Detroit Tigers and one season with the San Francisco Giants before arriving in Minnesota with the Twins.

Berenguer spent four years with the Twins spanning from 1987 to 1990 and put together one of the best stretches of his professional career in the Twin Cities, including being a part of Minnesota’s 1987 World Series team which also featured current Rox Field Manager Al Newman. With the Twins, Berenguer tallied a record of 33-13 in 418.1 innings pitched primarily coming out of the bullpen.

After his time in Minnesota, Berenguer went on to play a year and a half with the Atlanta Braves prior to closing out his career in 1992 with the Royals. In his career, “Señor Smoke” appeared in just under 500 games and pitched over 1,200 innings on the mound, recording 67 wins, 32 saves and nearly 1,000 strikeouts while securing World Series rings with the Tigers in 1984 and the Twins in 1987.

The Rox will play their 7th season of Northwoods League Baseball in 2018. Cy Young award winner Bret Saberhagen and former Twins Tom Brunansky, Terry Steinbach, Jacque Jones, Gene Larkin and Greg Gagne have previously thrown out the first pitch during Rox home openers.

Tickets for the June 1 home opener presented by Coborn’s will go on sale starting Monday, April 23 at 10 a.m. at the Rox ticket office located at the west end of the Municipal Athletic Complex, over the phone by calling 320-240-9798 or 24 hours a day online at www.stcloudrox.com.

Single game tickets for all 36 Rox home games during the 2018 season will go on sale starting Monday, April 30 at 10 a.m.

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.