Published: January 16, 2008 11:13 pm      

A tough act to follow

Houston's hotshot outfielder Pence and Astros bench coach Moore coming to Huntsville for annual fundraising banquet

It would be difficult — impossible, maybe — to duplicate the excitement generated by the first Meet the Players Banquet hosted last winter by the Bearkat baseball team.

A sold-out crowd came out to hear Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan talk baseball and kick off what turned out to be a spectacular season for Sam Houston State.

This year, Bearkat baseball coach Mark Johnson has invited one of Ryan’s buddies, Astros bench coach Jackie Moore, along with Houston’s hottest young player, outfielder Hunter Pence, for the second annual Meet the Players Banquet and Auction, scheduled Feb. 2 at Sam Houston State’s Lowman Student Center.

Moore and Pence don’t have the household names of Nolan Ryan, but Johnson believes baseball fans who attend the upcoming banquet are in for a memorable evening. There will tons of sports memorabilia to bid on during silent and live auctions, a terrific menu is planned, plus guests will hear from two of the men who will try and turn the Astros around in 2008.

“The Astros are having a banquet this week and I understand they’re going to name Hunter Pence their Rookie of the Year. They’re also giving Jackie Moore a lifetime achievement award,” Johnson said Wednesday.

“Jackie Moore has 50 years in professional baseball. He managed at Oakland and with the Astros organization in Round Rock. Now he’s the Astros’ bench coach. He’s a very personable guy who is a baseball man as I am. So we have a common passion.”

It is Pence’s passion for the game that attracted the attention of baseball fans all over the country last summer. A rookie center fielder in 2007, Pence plays baseball with everything he’s got.

After a call-up from the minors late in April, Pence immediately earned a starting spot in the Astros’ outfield. He played in more than 100 games, hitting .322 with 30 doubles, nine triples, 17 home runs and 69 RBIs. Pence also slugged .539 and stole 11 bases.

At the banquet, Pence likely will talk about his hard-nosed style, the Astros in ’08 and maybe even his playing days at Texas-Arlington, when he went head to head each spring with the Bearkats.

“I fell in love with Hunter last summer because of the way he plays the game,” Johnson said. “He’s got a little bit of that old-time player in him. He just gets after it. Some of it doesn’t look real pretty, but he gets the job done.”

Tickets are $400 for a table with nine guests, $100 per couple or $75 per guest. Doors open for the banquet at 6 p.m. with a silent auction and cash bar. Dinner is at 7 p.m.

Business attire is preferred.

Johnson said Ryan and his baseball partner, SHSU alumnus Don Sanders, have donated the main course for the banquet.

“We’re going to have a prime rib dinner. Nolan Ryan has given us the prime rib and Don Sanders helped with that,” Johnson said. “That will be really, really good. We’ve also got some really neat items in our auctions.”

Johnson will introduce the 2008 baseball team and the crowd will be entertained by at least one of the current Bearkats.

“Todd Sebek is going to sing,” Johnson said. “We’ve asked a student violinist I know to play at the banquet, too, and we may get some of Todd’s teammates to help them.”

Reservations are now being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Call (936) 294-3286 or go to the Sam Houston State athletic Web site at www.gobearkats.com to make reservations or for more information.