Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog and former MLB umpire Don Denkinger will be the featured speakers at this year’s First Pitch Dinner hosted by the Saint Louis baseball program.
The dinner will take place on Jan. 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the St. Louis Room in the Busch Student Center on the SLU campus. Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased through the Billiken Club at 314-977-8180.
Herzog was the Cardinals manager from 1980-90, leading them to a World Series title in 1982. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. Herzog is known for “Whiteyball,” a style of baseball concentrating on pitching, speed and defense to win games.
Denkinger was an MLB umpire from 1969 to 1998. He worked four World Series (1974, 1980, 1985 and 1991) and three All-Star Games (1971, 1976 and 1987). Denkinger has umpired in two perfect games in his career: Len Barker’s on May 15, 1981 (second-base umpire) and Kenny Rogers’ on July 28, 1994 (first-base).
Denkinger is most notably known for “The Call” in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. Herzog’s Cardinals led the Kansas City Royals three games to two. With the Cardinals leading 1-0 in the ninth, the Royals’ Jorge Orta hit a slow roller to Cardinal first-baseman Jack Clark, who tossed to pitcher Todd Worrell covering first. Denkinger, the first-base umpire, called Orta safe at first in what would become a controversial call. The Royals went on to win the game 2-1 and the series in seven games.
Both Herzog and Denkinger will be available for a question and answer session during the dinner. Saint Louis head baseball coach Darin Hendrickson will be on hand to speak with fans and preview the upcoming Billiken baseball season.
The Billiken season begins Feb. 13-15, 2015 when the Bills travel to Port Charlotte, Fla., for the Snowbird Classic. Saint Louis will take on Pittsburgh (Feb. 13), Iowa (Feb. 14), Ohio State (Feb. 14) and Kansas State (Feb. 15) on opening weekend.
