Rolen, Martinez and Burke Headline Leadoff Dinner
January 22, 2004 | Baseball
Jan. 22, 2004
LOUISVILLE, KY - St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen, Tampa Bay Devil Rays first baseman Tino Martinez, and Louisville St. Xavier graduate and Houston Astros prospect Chris Burke headline the 2004 University of Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner on February 3 at 7:30 p.m in the Brown and Williamson Club of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
The banquet is sponsored by Colgate/Palmolive and Republic Bank and tickets can be purchased for $50 by calling (502)852-1974.
Rolen, born in Evansville, Indiana and raised in Jasper, is a two-time MLB All-Star and 1997 Rookie of the Year. Following five full seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted him in the second round of the 1993 draft, Rolen was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he played 55 games in 2002 before his first full season last year. He hit .286 with 28 home runs and 104 RBI in 2003.
Rolen has won five gold gloves at the hot corner, and has a career batting average of .282 with 192 home runs and 707 RBI in the better part of eight seasons.
Martinez completed two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, replacing slugger Mark McGwire, and won four World Series rings with the Yankees after replacing Don Mattingly at first. He was acquired in the off-season by his hometown Devil Rays.
A two-time All-Star, Martinez has 299 career home runs and 1,146 RBI over a 14-year career. He spent the first six seasons of his career in Seattle.
Burke was named SEC Player of the Year in 2001, hitting .435 with 20 HR and 49 steals and broke a number of Todd Helton's records at Tennessee. Burke was the 10th overall pick in the 2001 MLB Draft by the Astros, and is on the 40 man roster this season. He was one of 50 minor league players selected to compete in the 2003 Futures Game at the MLB All-Star weekend in Chicago.
Burke was a Toy Bowl championship quarterback and played basketball and baseball at St. X.
The annual dinner is the primary fund-raising event for the U of L baseball team, and has featured Mattingly, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Tommy Lasorda and Dave Miley among others in the past.
The Cardinal Nine will open the 2004 season in California on February 18 with four games in five days. The home opener is February 25th against Eastern Kentucky at 3:00 p.m.
