Tempe, AZ – Tradition, Legacy and Respect. These are some of the words that are commonly associated with the ASU Baseball program.  Along with their 5 National Championships, the Sun Devils also rank first in the nation with the number of players that have reached the major leagues after college.  On Saturday night at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, the ASU Alumni Association (in partnership with the Sun Devil Club and ASU Baseball) held a celebration Legacy Dinner event to honor the 100 players that have played at the Major League level.

Honor to players

Players in attendance included former professionals Sal Bando, Floyd Bannister, Hubie Brooks, Ken Phelps, Mike Benjamin and Paul LoDuca.  There were also some current major leaguers that made the event  including Andre Ethier (Los Angeles Dodgers), Willie Bloomquist (Arizona Diamondbacks), Travis Buck (San Diego Padres), Eric Sogard (Oakland Athletics) and Kole Calhoun (Anaheim Angels).

Some of the silent auctions that were available for bidding.

The evening started off by introducing the players from the current 2013 team, followed by players from each decade going all the way back to the 1940’s.  You could sense the comaraderie and the bond that all the players shared with each other from playing at Packard Stadium and wearing the maroon and gold. 

There was also a panel of former Sun Devil players that shared their experiences at ASU and talked about the tradition and meaning of the baseball program.  That panel included Bando, Brooks, LoDuca, Bloomquist, Calhoun, and Blas Minor.

ASU meal

The details and production of the Legacy Dinner were very well done including a video tribute to the past players all the way down to the table settings.  The Athletic Department has really stepped their game up this year with the ASU football banquet, and now the Baseball Legacy Dinner.  It was the proper way to show love and respect to the players that left it all on the field at ASU.

The home opener for ASU baseball is Friday, February 15^th at Packard Stadium.

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