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ROCK HILL, SC--Nearly 500 people turned out for Sunday night's Winthrop First Pitch Dinner and a Night With Chipper Jones which was held in McBryde Hall on the Winthrop campus.
The dinner is held annually to signal the start of Winthrop's baseball season, but this year's event doubled as a fund-raising opportunity as the future Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star with the Atlanta Braves came to town as guest speaker. While in Rock Hill, Jones met with the 2013 Winthrop baseball team, conducted a press conference, and appeared at s special VIP Signing session.
"I try to do one of these appearances every year," said Jones, who retired from baseball last October after spending his entire 19-year Major League career with the Braves. "I have appeared at Georgia Southern, Mercer, Tennessee and Georgia Tech, but I never had a turnout like this," he told the packed banquet hall. "This is my way of giving back and it gives me a chance to meet and talk with the next generation of professional baseball players."
Prior to introducing Jones at the podium, Winthrop head coach
Tom Riginos thanked everyone for attending and those who worked behind the scenes to make the event a success. He encouraged fans in the Winthrop community, Rock Hill and York County to come out to The Winthrop Ballpark and support this year's team. "I feel good about this group of young men and this team," he said. Each member of the 36-man roster had an opportunity to introduce themselves to the audience.
The Eagles open their 56-game schedule this weekend with a three-game series against Maryland-Eastern Shore. The season opener will be at 4 p.m. on Friday. Season tickets for Winthrop's 30-game home schedule are on sale at the Winthrop ticket office located on the lower level of the Winthrop Coliseum, or by visiting the Winthrop Athletics web site, www.winthropeagles.com, and clicking on tickets.
Before departing, Jones took several questions from the audience ranging anywhere from how he got his nickname to whether he would get back into baseball at some point in his life.
"My given name is Larry Wayne Jones, Jr., I was a chip off the old block," he explained about his nickname. "My mom got tired of having to call for Larry Sr. or Larry Jr., so they came up with Chipper." Jones also said he felt good about the timing of his retirement, even though he feels like he still has some "gas left in the tank."
"Last season was so memorable, but it was time after seven knee surgeries, and I've also got four boys that I've been a part-time father to for a lot of years and I want to spend more time with them. I may want to get into coaching at some point down the road in six, eight or 10 years. I would love to be a hitting coach because that has been my craft. I believe I could do a good job in communicating with the younger guys."
