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Winston*Salem Baseball Hot Stove Banquet to be held on January 26

WINSTON-SALEM, NC- The 13th Annual Winston-Salem Baseball Charity Hot Stove Banquet and Memorabilia Silent Auction will be held on Friday, January 26th at 6 PM at the Embassy Suites Grand Pavilion in Downtown Winston-Salem. Hall of Fame Pitcher Gaylord Perry will serve as the Special Guest Speaker for this special event with all proceeds being donated to the Winston-Salem Warthogs Community Trust.

"Our annual Hot Stove Banquet is always very special. It gives our fans an opportunity to meet and talk with former major leaguers and this year will be the first event with a Hall of Famer in attendance," said Guy Schuman, President of the Winston-Salem Warthogs. "It also supports a great cause by raising funds for our foundation, which allows us to give back to the children in our community."

Perry, who spent 22 years in the Major Leagues with eight different teams, compiled impressive career numbers and numerous accolades. He won 314 games in his career, including the rare feat of winning the Cy Young Award in both the American and National League. Perry, a five-time All-Star, won 20 or more games five times in his career and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

Hot Stove Banquet activities will also include the 2006 Winston-Salem Hall of Fame inductions, the Bill Slack Community Service Award and autograph tables with baseball players from the past and present. Doors open at 6 PM with the silent auction running from 6:30 until 8 PM, at which time the main program will commence.

The Winston-Salem Warthogs Community Trust uses the proceeds generated from the Hot Stove Banquet to assist Little Leagues with stadium restoration projects, team funding, uniforms and a wide variety of additional financial support to promote baseball in Winston-Salem and the surrounding areas. Tickets for this special event are open to the public and can be purchased by calling the Warthogs office at 336-759-2233. Individual seats are only $35 and a table of eight is $275.

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MYRTLE BEACH, SC - On the final day of the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners shook hands on the way out of town after completing a trade which sends former Myrtle Beach Pelicans pitcher Horacio Ramirez to the Mariners in exchange for right-handed reliever Rafael Soriano.

Ramirez, a 5th round draft pick of the Braves in 1997, helped the Pelicans pitch their way to a Carolina League Championship in 2000. During the Championship season Ramirez produced one of the most spectacular single-season efforts in Pelicans franchise history. In 26 starts and one relief appearances he tossed his way to a 15-8 record to go along with a 3.22 ERA. His 15 wins in 2000 still rank as the 2nd most victories in one year for a Pelicans pitcher, two behind his teammate, Christian Parra, who hung 17 W's in the books that same year.

In 2003 Ramirez made his Major League debut with the Braves and burst onto the scene with a remarkable 12-4 record in 29 starts as a rookie. After a dazzling first year in the "bigs" injuries would limit the strong-throwing lefty to just nine outings in his "sophomore" campaign. He bounced back in 2005, going 11-9 in 32 starts for the NL East champs, but 2006 would not be as kind. Another injury-slowed season watched Ramirez post a 5-5 mark with a 4.48 ERA in 14 appearances on the hill, bringing his career total to 30-22 with a 4.13 ERA through his first four seasons in the Major Leagues.

Soriano joins the Braves bullpen after tossing to a 1-2 record and a 2.25 ERA in 53 appearances in 2006 with the Mariners. The 26, soon to be 27-year-old (on December 19th), right-hander out of the Dominican Republic has appeared in 116 games and has logged a 4-8 record with a combined 2.89 ERA during his five-year stint with Seattle.

BEST OF LUCK TO THE FORMER BIRDS - Thebravesshow.com has reported that the following former Myrtle Beach Pelicans have been released by the Atlanta Braves...LHP - Devin Anderson, RHP - Marcus Covington, RHP - Rudy Quinonez, RHP - Pedro Rayo, RHP - Ralph Roberts, OF - Ovandy Suero, RHP - Glenn Tucker.

FOLLOWING DAYTON TO K.C. - Three former Pelicans and one would-be future Pelican have flown the coop, so to speak, and have followed the former Atlanta Braves Director of Player Development / Assistant GM - now current GM of the Kansas City Royals, Dayton Moore. RHP Arthur Santos, RHP Matt Wright, OF Onil Joseph, and C Cody Clark have signed with the Royals. Just this afternoon former Pelicans 2B Richard Lewis was picked up by Moore's Royals in the Rule 5 Draft after spending the last three years in the Chicago Cubs system.

SPEAKING OF THE RULE 5 DRAFT - Former Pelicans pitcher RHP Sean White was drafted 4th overall in the Rule 5 Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. White will now join the Pirates Major League roster and must be kept in the major leagues for the duration of the 2007 season or be offered back to the Braves for half of what the Pirates paid ($50,000) for the selection.

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The Pelicans are preparing for their first full season under the new ownership group led by Greenberg. In addition to serving as the President & Managing Partner of Myrtle Beach Pelicans LP, Greenberg holds the same title for the successful Altoona Curve (AA/Pittsburgh Pirates) and State College Spikes (A/Pittsburgh Pirates) franchises in Central Pennsylvania. Recently the Altoona Curve was the recipient of the John H. Johnson President's Trophy which is annually awarded to the top franchise in all of Minor League Baseball. The announcement of the Curve winning the 2006 John H. Johnson President's Trophy means that the franchise has won the three most significant awards that an affiliated minor league baseball club can receive--the President's Trophy, the Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy and Baseball America's Bob Freitas Award--within just two years. Earlier this month Baseball America awarded the Curve a Freitas Award as the top Double-A franchise for the 2006 season.

Opening Day 2007 is scheduled for Thursday, April 5th when the Pelicans play host to the Wilmington Blue Rocks (A/Kansas City Royals) at 7:05 pm. For ticket information please call 843-918-6000 or visit the Pelicans official website at Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

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The Lynchburg Hillcats, in conjunction with Infinity Pro Sports, have announced a complete redesign of the team's web page, www.lynchburg-hillcats.com. The brand new site, launching today, features enhanced graphics, flash implementation, easier navigation and new content. Infinity Pro Sports, specializing in professional sports web page design and implementation, is widely regarded as an industry leader.

"We designed the new site with our fans in mind," said Andrew Chesser, Director of Information and Technology for the Lynchburg Hillcats. "This final product is the culmination of a lot of hard work by both the Lynchburg Baseball Corporation and Infinity Pro Sports."

The Hillcats and Infinity Pro Sports entered a partnership prior to the 2005 campaign and immediately implemented a new design that provided the team with a brand new online identity. The site was redesigned in order to assure the team a fresh online identity that is among the best in all of minor league baseball.

Infinity Pro Sports is a division of UK Advertising, Inc. Their corporate and national sales offices are based in College Station, Texas. Since the creation of this division, the company has experienced tremendous growth with Minor League Baseball, Hockey, Soccer, Arena Football, and is now breaking into the Collegiate Sports market.

The Lynchburg Hillcats open their 13th season on Thursday, April 5th against the Potomac Nationals at 7:05 pm.

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P-Nats announce 2007 field staff
12/12/06 - Carolina League (CarL) Potomac Nationals

Potomac Nationals
WOODBRIDGE, VA - The Potomac Nationals today announced that Manager Randy Knorr, Coach Troy Gingrich and Trainer Sean Wayne will return to the P-Nats staff for the 2007 season. The announcement was made by Potomac Nationals Vice President and General Manager Bobby Holland.

Knorr returns to Potomac after splitting the 2006 season between the P-Nats and the Washington Nationals. He was summoned to Washington on June 15th to serve as bullpen coach for the big league club. While in Potomac, Knorr posted a 31-36 record while making a strong run at the first-half Carolina League championship.

"We are thrilled to have Randy back as our team's manager for the 2007 season," said Holland. "The players love playing for him and he brings a great work ethic to the organization."

Randy led the Savannah Sand Gnats (A - South Atlantic League) to a 62 - 76 season in 2005 as his first year as a coach.

He spent part of his 11 seasons in the Major Leagues with Toronto ('91 - 95'), Houston ('96 - '97, '99), Florida ('98), Texas ('00) and Montreal ('01) where he hit 24 home runs and drove in 88 runs in 253 Major League games.

Troy Gingrich returns for his third season as a coach with Potomac and his fourth season overall as a minor league hitting coach. He made his professional coaching debut in 2004 with the Vermont Expos of the New-York Penn League after four seasons as a player in the Montreal Expos farm system. As an outfielder, Gingrich hit .231 with 6 home runs, 79 RBI and 44 stolen bases during his professional playing career.

Sean Wayne returns for his second season as the Potomac Nationals head trainer and 6th season overall in professional baseball. Sean has also served in the same capacity at Single-A Savannah in 2005 and was the head trainer at Brevard County of the Single-A Florida State League in 2004.

The Potomac Nationals expect to announce a new pitching coach in the coming weeks.

Full season tickets and other ticket packages are now on sale, and can be purchased by calling the P-Nats box office at (703) 590-2311 ext. 215. For more information fans are encourage to visit Potomac Nationals Professional Baseball :: Class A Affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

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MYRTLE BEACH, SC - The Atlanta Braves have certainly kept the hot stove warm over the last couple of weeks. It has been reported that one of the most celebrated players in Myrtle Beach Pelicans franchise history, 2B Marcus Giles, will not be tendered a contract by the Braves and will now become a free agent. During the Pelicans Inaugural season, 1999, Giles not only led the Birds to their first Carolina League Championship, but also garnered league MVP honors.

The MVP season manufactured by Giles is arguably the best all-around single-season in the history of Pelicans baseball. The former 53rd round draft pick (1996 draft) of the Braves posted a Carolina League best .326 batting average, which still ranks as the highest batting average in Pelicans history for a single-season. Giles has his name inked in the Pelicans Top 10 for a number of offensive categories including the most hits in a single-season (162), most doubles (40), and most at-bats (497). He also ranks 2nd in runs scored (80), 3rd in RBI (73), 4th in triples (7), 6th in games played (126), and 8th in walks (54).

After six Major League seasons Giles has notched a .285 career batting average with 72 home runs, 294 RBI, and 60 stolen bases. In 2006 he hit .262 with 11 home runs and 60 RBI in 141 games. Highlights of his stint with the Braves includes earning a spot on the 2003 National League All-Star team (unable to play due to injury), smacking a Braves franchise record 49 doubles in 2003, and helping the club win five division titles.

Giles is one of 51 former Pelicans that have played in the Major Leagues.

OH BROTHER! - Rumors are already swirling about Giles and his next destination. San Diego seems to be the obvious choice right off the bat. Not only was Giles born in San Diego, but his brother, Brian, also plays for the Padres. Will they unite on the left coast?

SALTY ON THE STOVE - Speaking of rumors, the Braves have made no secret about their desire to acquire Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli. Names that have been mentioned as possible trade bait for Baldelli include former Pelicans - Chuck James, Kyle Davies, and the Braves #1 prospect in the system Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

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The Pelicans are preparing for their first full season under the new ownership group led by Greenberg. In addition to serving as the President & Managing Partner of Myrtle Beach Pelicans LP, Greenberg holds the same title for the successful Altoona Curve (AA/Pittsburgh Pirates) and State College Spikes (A/Pittsburgh Pirates) franchises in Central Pennsylvania. Recently the Altoona Curve was the recipient of the John H. Johnson President's Trophy which is annually awarded to the top franchise in all of Minor League Baseball. The announcement of the Curve winning the 2006 John H. Johnson President's Trophy means that the franchise has won the three most significant awards that an affiliated minor league baseball club can receive--the President's Trophy, the Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy and Baseball America's Bob Freitas Award--within just two years. Earlier this month Baseball America awarded the Curve a Freitas Award as the top Double-A franchise for the 2006 season.

Opening Day 2007 is scheduled for Thursday, April 5th when the Pelicans play host to the Wilmington Blue Rocks (A/Kansas City Royals) at 7:05 pm. For ticket information please call 843-918-6000 or visit the Pelicans official website at Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

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Looking for a last-minute gift for your valued employees, customers, vendors or families? How about giving the gift of baseball to yourself??

2007 Salem Avalanche Ticket Books Make GREAT Gifts!

General Admission Ticket Books are a great way to celebrate the Holidays for the baseball fan in all of us!

Books of 10 undated tickets are just $45.00 per book; Books of 20 undated tickets are just $85.00 per book!

Call the Salem Avalanche Holiday Hotline at 540-302-0244 to place your order today.

Mention Promotional Code "Operation Mistletoe" when you place your order for a chance to win a Luxury Suite Night at a ballgame during the 2007 season (food & beverage not included).

All orders must be picked up at the Salem Avalanche Box Office, located at Lewis-Gale Medical Center Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. The Stadium is located at 1004 Texas St. in Salem, adjacent to the Salem Civic Center and Salem Football Stadium.

Happy Holidays from Mugsy and the entire Salem Avalanche family!