MARIANNA – Professional baseball players joined more than 50 of their former Chipola College teammates for the recent annual Baseball Alumni Weekend.
The event included live college baseball action, a Homerun Derby, an autograph session with pros Jose Bautista and his newest Toronto Blue Jays teammate, All-Star catcher Russell Martin. Honorary Chipola Alumnus Jeff Mathis also competed.
Jose Bautista, MLB’s two-time homerun leader, won the Homerun Derby with 8 round-trippers.
The college officially retired MLB All-Star Patrick Corbins’s Chipola jersey before the derby. Corbin played at Chipola in 2009 before being drafted by Anaheim in the second round. Corbin debuted with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012, and in 2013 earned a spot on the National League All-Star Roster after posting a 14-8 regular season record.
An Alumni Dinner and Auction raised several thousand dollars to support the baseball program.
Chipola baseball coach and AD Jeff Johnson, says, “It was a great weekend. We appreciate all the guys coming back to help our program. Not every Chipola player makes it to the pros, but so many of them say their time at Chipola helped them become successful in life. We’re already looking forward to next year.”
Former Chipola player Nathan Marks is leading the effort to reconnect with former players. For information about alumni happenings, email Marks at nathan@marksinsurance.com, visit www.chipola.edu or phone Brent Shelton at (850) 272-0014.