A resounding cheer erupted in the stands Tuesday night down the left-field line at Nat Bailey Stadium, home of the Vancouver Canadians.
Organizers of the annual JCC Sports Dinner had just hit a towering home run, with the announcement that baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez would be coming to Vancouver as Keynote Speaker for the 29th annual fundraiser on February 23, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Over and above performing at the highest level over 22 seasons in major league baseball, upon his retirement Rodriguez became a media personality as an analyst for Fox Sports, ABC News Network, ESPN and CNBC. He is also principal owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and is an ambassador for the Boys and Girls Club.
Commonly referred to a ‘A-Rod’ to fans around the world, Rodriguez played with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and most notably the New York Yankees. He established a long list of records including leading the American League in home runs on five occasions and being named to the American League All-star team 14 times.
His career was interrupted when major league baseball suspended him for 162 games in 2013 after he admitted his involvement in a performance-enhancing drug investigation. Rodriguez played his final big league game on August 12, 2016 as a designated hitter with the Yankees.
JCC Dinner sponsorship Chair Mike Averbach and RBC executive Todd Shewfelt unveiled a poster of Rodriguez on the Hey Y’All Porch at Nat Bailey while announcing the 2022 Sports Dinner will be an in-person live event or available virtually.
Canadian field hockey Olympians Katherine Wright and John Smythe were on hand as part of the contingent representing RBC, title sponsor of the JCC Sports Dinner.
Greg Douglas ‘Dr. Sport’ contributes to The Orca on a biweekly basis. His five decades of covering sports in British Columbia included 19 years as a weekly columnist with The Vancouver Sun.
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