University of Connecticut Athletics
Yanks-BoSox Brass To Headline Preseason Dinner
12/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Cashman and Cherington to Speak; Husky Greats Dropo and Nagy to be Honored
TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR THIS EXCITING EVENT OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE UCONN ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AT 860-486-3863
STORRS, Conn. (Dec. 22, 2005) - A pair of Major League Baseball executives and two of UConn’s all-time great baseball student-athletes who both had outstanding professional careers will be the featured honorees at the 2006 UConn Baseball Annual Preseason Dinner on Friday, Feb. 3 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
New York Yankees Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Cashman and Boston Red Sox Vice President for Player Personnel Ben Cherington will serve as the featured guests speakers for the event.
Walt Dropo, who played baseball at UConn in 1943 and ’46 and went on to become the American League Rookie of the Year with the Boston Red Sox in 1950, will be honored with the UConn Baseball Distinguished Alumni Award as will Charles Nagy, who pitched at UConn from 1987-88, and had a 13-year professional career which included three all-star game appearances and two World Series trips.
The event will also serve as a reunion for the UConn Baseball classes of 1936, ’46, ’56, ’66, ‘76, ’86 and ’96. The dinner is a kickoff for the 2006 UConn baseball season and the entire ’06 Husky team will be introduced.
Tickets for the event are priced at $100 and a social hour will begin at 6:00 p.m. with dinner and speaking to follow. Proceeds from the event will benefit the University of Connecticut baseball program.
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Cashman is the only General Manager in Major League history to guide a team to a division or league title in each of his first eight seasons on the job. Cashman completed his eighth season as the Yankees' GM in 2005 and during his tenure, the Yankees have compiled a cumulative record of 794-498-the best winning percentage (.615) in the Major Leagues during that period.
He joined the Yankees at age 19 in June of 1986 as an intern in the club's Minor League and Scouting Department. On February 3, 1998 -at age 31 – he became the second-youngest General Manager in baseball history.
In his first season (1998), he became the youngest General Manager to win a World Series and went on to become the only GM in baseball history to win World Championships in each of his first three seasons (1998-2000). Cashman is also only the third GM in Baseball history to win at least four consecutive League Championships and was the first to do it in his first four seasons (1998-2001).
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Cherington is Vice President for Player Personnel for the Boston Red Sox. The 31-year-old joined the Red Sox in 1999 and has served as the club's Director of Player Development since December 7, 2002.
A graduate of Amherst College, where he played four years of varsity baseball and served as an assistant coach for one year, Cherington earned a Master's degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1997.
He served as a video advance scout for the Cleveland Indians in 1998 before joining the Red Sox. Cherington began 1999 as a mid-Atlantic area scout before joining the Baseball Operations department in May. After two years as Coordinator of International Scouting, the Meriden, N.H., native was named Assistant Director of Player Development in 2002.
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Dropo is UConn’s most recognized three-sport athlete as he was named to the UConn Men’s Basketball All-Century Team in 2001 and the UConn 100th Anniversary All-Time Football Team in 1998. Dropo is also one of the great UConn baseball players of all-time and following his graduation from UConn he was offered professional contracts by the Boston Red Sox in baseball, the Boston Celtics in basketball and the Chicago Bears in football.
He elected a professional baseball career and was the 1950 American League Rookie of the Year for the Red Sox. He tied for the American League RBI lead in 1950 with 144 and also led the league with 326 total bases. His 13-year professional career also included stints with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles.
Following his professional career, he was a successful businessman as he operated a nationwide import fireworks company. His brothers George and Milt were also standout student-athletes at UConn.
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Nagy was an All-American pitcher for UConn in 1988 and was also a gold medalist on the 1988 United States Olympic team. He was the BIG EAST Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1987 and ’88.
He enjoyed a 13-season professional career – the first 12 with the Cleveland Indians from 1990-2002. He registered 129 major league wins and played in three All-Star games in 1992, ‘96 (as a starter) and ’99. He also pitched in the 1995 and ’97 World Series with the Indians and registered five postseason wins during his career.
He is currently the pitching coach of the Salt Lake Stingers – the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
