February 11 - Baseball royalty made an appearance last night at George Mason’s third annual First Pitch Dinner, with Kansas City Royals legend George Brett featured as the keynote speaker.
Brett spoke in front of hundreds of current and former members of the George Mason baseball program and their families, including two other members of the Royals’ organization, assistant general manager J.J. Picollo and Chris Widger, the bench coach for the Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks.
The Hall of Fame infielder also spent time earlier in the day with the current Patriots, working with players in the batting cages, before delivering his speech and finishing the night with a Q&A session with MASN-TV’s Phil Wood last night at Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center on Mason’s campus.
“It’s a special event not only for George Mason baseball but for the entire university to have a baseball Hall of Famer here on campus,” Patriots coach Bill Brown said. “Also to have J.J. here and all these guys that played for us are here supporting us. They are all still part of the program, and that’s very special.”
Kansas City’s ties to Mason do not end with Picollo and Widger, extending to general manager Dayton Moore, who graduated from Mason in 1989 and returned as an assistant coach from 1990-1994. Moore was hired in 2006 as the club's general manager and built Royals teams that advanced to consecutive World Series and won a championship in 2015. He has been supported throughout his tenure by former Patriots players Picollo, scouting director Lonnie Goldberg and scout Kenny Munoz.
Brett spoke of the impact Moore, Picollo and Goldberg have had on the Royals, and their role in returning winning baseball to Kansas City.
“I have to give them kudos for coming up with the plan and give them kudos for not giving into the pressure caused by the media and idiot fans,” Brett said. “They saw the long vision and they stuck with it and it paid off.”
The proceeds from the First Pitch Dinner benefit the program and its facilities. Brown’s plans for Spuhler Field include a new outfield wall, scoreboard, fan amenities and an upgraded grandstands. Funds generated through the previous First Pitch dinners and other fundraisers have helped pay for the Patriots’ renovated dugouts at Spuhler Field for this upcoming season.
“We want to get to the point that the ballpark at George Mason and Spuhler FIeld is a go-to destination and the place in Northern Virginia for baseball,” Brown said.
George Mason opens the season on Feb. 17 at North Carolina-Wilmington, and the Patriots will open at home on March 3 against Marist College.
Photos/Josh Belanger
