Lipscomb University hosted former Atlanta Braves superstar Fred McGriff during its annual First Pitch Dinner on Saturday.
Jonathan Seamon, the ESPN+ play-by-play man for the Bisons, emceed the event. He also interviewed Lipscomb baseball coach Jeff Forehand, alongside the team’s senior players, as they anticipated the upcoming 2019 season.
Bisons’ head coach Jeff Forehand said that the dinner, which featured a live auction and encouraged fan donations, “was definitely a good night for us as far as raising a few dollars to help” the team and its facilities.
The event began with a time of socialization, light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, and then everyone sat down and ate a complimentary dinner with current players.
The baseball season starts Feb. 15 at home against Valparaiso. You can read our season preview here.
McGriff injects humor, wisdom and reflection during his interview
McGriff started off with an anecdote about how his 10th grade high school baseball team released him.
“When [people] see my baseball coach around town, they’re like, ‘Dude, you cut Fred McGriff!'” he said.
McGriff played 19 years in the MLB, including five with Atlanta. He was with the Braves during their 1995 World Series victory.
“[The] Braves had always made the playoffs and were trying to get over the hump and win a World Series,” McGriff said. “So it was always the pressure on the guys to finally come through and win a World Series.”
He finished his career with a .284 batting average, 1,550 RBIs and 493 home runs, per Baseball Reference.
At one point, he talked about media coverage of golf rounds between a team’s pitchers.
“If your team is winning, right? The pitchers get to carry golf clubs around, and they can go out and play golf. And the reporters are like, ‘Oh it’s great. The camaraderie of these guys, you see they play, they pitch together…
“If you’re on a losing team, and you play golf? ‘Oh, I cannot believe these guys. They don’t care about baseball. All they wanna do is play golf.'”
Forehand and players hype up 2019 season
Forehand discussed the upcoming season, and he named former Bison catcher Jeffrey Crisan student coach. Seamon also asked Forehand about his thoughts on Lipscomb’s lowly No. 7 preseason conference ranking.
“That ranking is probably based on our performance from last year,” Forehand said. “So we have nowhere but up to move. And everybody on the inside knows what kind of team we have, and I’ll be shocked if it’s a seventh-place finish.”
Lipscomb’s senior roster includes third baseman Zeke Dodson, left-handed reliever Alex Dorso, first baseman Cade Sorrells and starting hurlers Joshua Colon and Chris Kachmar.
Live auction sells expensive, notable items
Before Seamon interviewed the night’s speakers, Lipscomb sold items through a live auction.
While this included numerous MLB baseball games, there were a few other various items as well. Some were low-profile, like a La-Z-Boy leather recliner; while one prize gave the highest bidder a trip to the Florida coast.
Autographed MLB bats and jerseys were sold as well, and perhaps the most prolific of all the prizes was two tickets to the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics