Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Dwight Williams (212) 788-2972
The Mayor was joined at the dinner by Joe Torre, manager of the 1996 World Champion New York Yankees; David Cone, starting pitcher for the 1996 World Champion New York Yankees; former Major Leaguer Frank Torre; Rachel Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson; Ralph Branca, Chair of B.A.T. and a member of the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers; and former Major Leaguer and broadcaster Joe Garagiola, who acted as Master of Ceremonies.
"As a life-long baseball fan, particularly a Yankee fan, I appreciate the mission of B.A.T. because throughout my life, so many players gave me so much happiness, so much heartache, so many memories." Mayor Giuliani said. "B.A.T. ensures that the players who we remember so well are not forgotten during their time of need. B.A.T. provides assistance with medical bills, arranging for nursing home care and preventing home foreclosures. The players from the past enjoyed neither the salaries nor the pension benefits of athletes today and these great ball players deserve the help and love that B.A.T. offers."
The Mayor also honored the memory of former Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson and presented his widow, Rachel, with a crystal skyline paperweight from Tiffany's.
"1947 was the year that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, winning the first ever Rookie of the Year honors, an award that now bears his name for all time," Mayor Giuliani said. "In leading the Dodgers to the 1947 World Series, Jackie Robinson became more than a baseball player, he became a national icon, a hero to his people and to enlightened and progressive people the world over. It is fitting that we hold this dinner on the day after we celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., because we are honoring another giant of the civil rights movement, a man who did his talking with his bat, his glove and his speed, but who also communicated his message through the quiet dignity and professionalism with which he conducted himself every day, regardless of the bigotry and ignorance he encountered."
In 1986, then Major League Commissioner Peter Uberroth and the late John Carter, president and CEO of The Equitable, created the Baseball Assistance Team, as part of Major League Baseball's corporate sponsorship program. B.A.T. consists of a group of former major league players and community representatives who have united to aid members of the baseball family who have come upon hard times. The annual dinner is the organization's primary source of raising funds for the year.