Florida Diamond Club Honors Baseball Legends and Future Stars at Annual Banquet

The Florida Diamond Club held its annual baseball banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn North, Temple Terrace Florida this past Saturday, November 6th. This annual event is held every year in conjunction with the Diamond Clubs baseball showcase. Each year, at the banquet, the Diamond Club honors the best of the best local talent; ballplayers, coaches and scouts. On the field they honor the best ballplayers from around the state by inviting them to workout in front of huge numbers of scouts at the prestigious Diamond Club Showcase. 59 of the participants in the 2003 showcase were selected in the June 2004 baseball Draft.

Tampa, FL November 12, 2004 -- This year the Diamond Club presented awards to Amateur Coach of the Year, Head Coach Bob Rikeman from Rollins College, Amateur High School Player of the year, Billy Butler Wolfson High School, Jacksonville; Amateur College Player of the Year, Eddy Martinez-Esteve, from Florida State; Minor League Player of the Year, Ryan Shealy, University of Florida and Colorado Rockies; Distinguished Service to Baseball award to Dez Hamilton, Lifetime Achievement award to Joe Romano and Major League Scout of the Year, Brad Weitzel of the Minnesota Twins. Also honored and introduced as inductees to the Florida Scouts Hall of Fame, George Zuraw and Joe McDonald. Baseball star, Chet Lemon was the guest speaker and Ed McCloskey was the Master of Ceremonies. Each of the honorees were commended and applauded for their tremendous achievements within their categories. This was the 33rd such Awards Banquet.

About The Florida Diamond Club:
The Florida Diamond Club was founded in 1972 in order to promote baseball in Florida, advance education through the perpetuation of baseball as the National Pastime and provide an environment where baseball is the main focus for coaches, scouts and fans at the amateur, collegiate and professional levels.

The original founders of the Diamond Club were giants, George Digby, Dale Jones, Birdy Tebbets, Walt Widmeyer, and George Zuraw. The present day officers of the Diamond club are of President Steve Nichols scout with the Detroit Tigers, Vice President Kevin Elfering of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Treasurer Paul Turco, San Francisco Giants and Secretary, Joe Siers from the Cincinnati reds. Other officers include 2nd VP Greg Zunino from the Cincinnati Reds, 3rd VP Mike Silvestri from the Anaheim Angels. The Board of Directors includes Past Presidents John Cedarburg of the Colorado Rockies and Joe Delli Carri of the New York Mets.

The Florida Diamond Club does more than just honor baseball players, coaches and scouts, it also provides a great venue for the future stars of tomorrow to go out and show, the attending scouts, how they play the game. These high school players, traditionally seniors in high school and eligible for the following years draft, get to display their tools in fielding, hitting, pitching and running situations, in game conditions so scouts can evaluate their skills. These players are invited by the Florida Diamond Club to participate so it is truly an honor to be among the invited.

Over the years, hundreds of these participants have been selected in the annual Major League First Year Player Draft. This year, 2004 first round draft picks and 2003 Diamond Club Showcase baseball participants, Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals and Ryan Harvey of the Chicago Cubs were in the stands to watch the showcase events. Many past participants in the Florida Diamond Club Showcase are now major league baseball players.

Please visit our web site at www.floridadiamondclub.com for more information.

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