The St. Thomas Aquinas Baseball team will host their 2020 Preseason Luncheon at Mulino's at Lake Isle in Eastchester, NY on Sunday, January 26th. Cocktail hour is scheduled for 1pm with lunch and the formal program beginning at 2pm. Well over 200 guests, including alumni, local coaches, college administrators, parents, families and friends of the program are expected to attend.
Current YES Network broadcaster and former Major League Baseball catcher, John Flaherty will be the featured guest speaker for the luncheon.
Former New York Yankees catcher John Flaherty joined the YES team in the spring of 2006 as field reporter, studio analyst and game analyst for YES' Yankees telecasts. He has won six New York Emmy Awards while at YES and earned individual New York Emmy Award nominations in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2019 for his YES work.
Drafted by Boston in 1988, Flaherty progressed within the Red Sox farm system before joining the parent club in 1992. He played 14 major league seasons with five teams (Red Sox 1992-93, Detroit Tigers 1994-96, San Diego Padres 1996-97, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1998-02 and the Yankees 2003-05).
He is perhaps best known to many Yankees fans for his 2004 pinch-hit walk-off single that ended a 13-inning regular season game against the Red Sox. In 2005, he became Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson's personal catcher, in addition to backing up starting catcher Jorge Posada. During his MLB career, he had a .252 batting average in 1,047 games and collected 849 hits, including 80 home runs.
Flaherty is a New York City native and a graduate of George Washington University. In 2015, he was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, N.Y.
In addition, this year's Spartan Baseball Alumni Honorees are Stanley Susana and Ken Kirshner.
Head Coach Jon Garvey will introduce the 2019-2020 squad; which includes several key members from last season, along with many new faces.
The St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball team will play its season opener in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina against the Le Moyne College Dolphins on Friday, February 21st, in doubleheader action.
Cost for the luncheon is $80 per person. Special pricing for couples ($150 per) and entire tables ($700 per) are available.
Luncheon program advertising is also available: $100 for full page ads and $50 for half page ads.
For more information or to attend, please contact Head Coach Jon Garvey at jgarvey@stac.edu.