Sidewinders Caravan To Roll Into Southern Arizona
The Tucson Sidewinders' will once again reach out into the Southern Arizona community with the team's third annual Winter Caravan scheduled to take place Wednesday, February, 1st and Thursday, February 2nd presented by BlueCross/BlueShield and Casino del Sol.
Returning manager Chip Hale and hitting coach Lorenzo Bundy will lead a crew of players including RHP Casey Daigle, RHP Dustin Nippert, C Robby Hammock, LHP Bill Murphy, RHP Matt Henrie, 1B Jesus Cota along with Sandy Sidewinder and others to schools, hospitals, military bases, and community centers in the Fort Huachuca, Nogales, Rio Rico, Sahuarita and Tucson areas.
The Winter Caravan will look to build upon last year's event which traveled over 400 miles to 11 different stops and touched thousands of fans. The 2006 Caravan will once again provide Sidewinders fans and community members with the opportunity to meet face-to-face and interact with future Diamondbacks players and coaches. Participants will be treated to photo opportunities, autographs sessions, and prize drawings. Fans will also have the opportunity to welcome broadcaster Ryan Radtke into his new role as the Voice of the Sidewinders.
"This is one of the ways the Sidewinders can reach out to the community to say thank you for all the support from Southern Arizona," said General Manager Rick Parr. "We want everybody to come out and see the players and experience the fun and excitement of having Triple-A baseball in our community."
The two day event kicks off Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. when the Caravan will depart from Tucson Electric Park heading to Fort Huachuca Military Base to interact with troops and their families. Day 1 will continue with out of town stops at Wade Carpenter Middle Academy in Nogales, AZ and the Esplendor Resort in Rio Rico. The first leg of the tour will culminate with an open to the public event at the Rancho Sahuarita Clubouse.
"Many baseball fans have always felt that professional baseball players were difficult to get autographs or meet," said Owner Jay Zucker. "The Sidewinders are proud to be able to bring the players to the fans via our Winter Caravan."
Thursday's phase of the tour will focus on the Tucson area, starting at the Metropolitan Grill to visit the Rotary Club of Oro Valley. From there the bus will travel to the University Medical Center to brighten the day for kids in the Ronald McDonald Family Room. This year's Caravan will then visit Fire Station One downtown to thank local firefighters for their services from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Players and coaches will interact with students, teachers and faculty at a pair of afternoon school visits to Pueblo High School and Hohokam Middle School before heading to a special stop at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base where the team will be treated to a close-up look at some of the aircraft from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Finally, the two-day 11-stop event will wrap up with a mixer hosted by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber at John Jacobs' El Parador on Broadway.
Returning manager Chip Hale and hitting coach Lorenzo Bundy will lead a crew of players including RHP Casey Daigle, RHP Dustin Nippert, C Robby Hammock, LHP Bill Murphy, RHP Matt Henrie, 1B Jesus Cota along with Sandy Sidewinder and others to schools, hospitals, military bases, and community centers in the Fort Huachuca, Nogales, Rio Rico, Sahuarita and Tucson areas.
The Winter Caravan will look to build upon last year's event which traveled over 400 miles to 11 different stops and touched thousands of fans. The 2006 Caravan will once again provide Sidewinders fans and community members with the opportunity to meet face-to-face and interact with future Diamondbacks players and coaches. Participants will be treated to photo opportunities, autographs sessions, and prize drawings. Fans will also have the opportunity to welcome broadcaster Ryan Radtke into his new role as the Voice of the Sidewinders.
"This is one of the ways the Sidewinders can reach out to the community to say thank you for all the support from Southern Arizona," said General Manager Rick Parr. "We want everybody to come out and see the players and experience the fun and excitement of having Triple-A baseball in our community."
The two day event kicks off Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. when the Caravan will depart from Tucson Electric Park heading to Fort Huachuca Military Base to interact with troops and their families. Day 1 will continue with out of town stops at Wade Carpenter Middle Academy in Nogales, AZ and the Esplendor Resort in Rio Rico. The first leg of the tour will culminate with an open to the public event at the Rancho Sahuarita Clubouse.
"Many baseball fans have always felt that professional baseball players were difficult to get autographs or meet," said Owner Jay Zucker. "The Sidewinders are proud to be able to bring the players to the fans via our Winter Caravan."
Thursday's phase of the tour will focus on the Tucson area, starting at the Metropolitan Grill to visit the Rotary Club of Oro Valley. From there the bus will travel to the University Medical Center to brighten the day for kids in the Ronald McDonald Family Room. This year's Caravan will then visit Fire Station One downtown to thank local firefighters for their services from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Players and coaches will interact with students, teachers and faculty at a pair of afternoon school visits to Pueblo High School and Hohokam Middle School before heading to a special stop at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base where the team will be treated to a close-up look at some of the aircraft from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Finally, the two-day 11-stop event will wrap up with a mixer hosted by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber at John Jacobs' El Parador on Broadway.