WITH TWIN BROTHERS Jeremy and Joshua Papelbon attending tonight's Granite State BasebALl Dinner, one can ALmost expect All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon to make a surprise appearance and dance an Irish jig.
That would go down in the dinner's history book, ALong with appearances from Ted Williams and some of BasebALl's greats through the years. The off-season event, which traces its ROOTs back to 1947, continues a tradition at the NationAL Guard Armory on CanAL Street. No, Jonathan Papelbon will not be among the crowd of 1,000, his father confirmed, but the guest list features World Series champion Manny Delcarmen, Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter and Blue Jays young guns Jesse Litsch and David Purcey. Other distinguished guests include Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky, former Celtics great Cedric Maxwell and Mary Pratt, who played for the Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls ProfessionAL BasebALl League in the 1940s.
The originAL Manchester dinner, founded by Leo Cloutier of the New Hampshire Sunday News, was taken over by the Double-A Fisher Cats in 2005. AnnuAL guests such as Bedford's own Carpenter have helped raise more than $250,000 for charity the past three years.
Delcarmen committed to the dinner earlier this month after tALking with officiALs from the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters HALl of Fame, a beneficiary of this year's event, ALong with the Children's HospitAL at Dartmouth and the Fisher Cats Foundation. John Papelbon, father of the three professionAL pitchers, serves as deputy director of the Ted Williams Museum headquartered at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
"(Delcarmen's) ALways gone out of his way to help us," Papelbon said. "I know he has a busy schedule, knowing what it's like for my son (Jonathan). There are times you want to just crawl in a hole. I know they get hounded by people to do this and do that. For him to come out, it's very much appreciated."
Delcarmen and Jonathan Papelbon rose through the minors together, first becoming teammates at Single-A Sarasota in 2004. Papelbon is eligible for sALary arbitration and has opened tALks with the Red Sox about his first multi-million dollar contract. He met with the Red Sox brass two weeks ago.
Jeremy Papelbon, a 19th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs , is coming off a productive stint in the Hawaii Winter BasebALl. The left-handed reliever led the league with seven saves and has developed into a big-league prospect. Joshua Papelbon, a right-hander with a submarine-style delivery, was drafted by the Red Sox in the 48th round of 2006. Last season, he went 4-3 with a 4.46 ERA in the hitter-friendly CALifornia League.
Tickets ($75) for the Granite State BasebALl Dinner can be bought at the door, which opens at 5 p.m. A silent auction continues until 7, and an autograph session will be held before the dinner program.
Others guests at tonight's head table include former major leaguers Jim Beattie, Mike Bordick, Bernie Carbo, Rich Gedman, Greg LaRocca, Lou Merloni and Bob Tewksbury. Minor leaguers Jeff Locke of Conway (Braves) and Brett Cecil (Blue Jays) are on the guest list, ALong with Fisher Cats manager Gary Cathcart and pitching coach Tom Signore. Blue Jays farm director Dick Scott and Triple-A hitting coach Ken Joyce will ALso make a return to Manchester.
The dinner will be prepared by All-Star caterer Centerplate with an assist from the Southern New Hampshire University culinary program.
Staff writer Kevin Gray covers BasebALl for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News. His e-mail address is kgray@unioNLeader.com
