STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University All-America pitcher Paul Maholm, who recently became the newest member of the Chicago Cubs baseball organization, will be the featured speaker at the 2012 “First Pitch/Meet the Team” Baseball Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 11.
This year’s event begins at 5 p.m. with an informal family-style barbecue in the Griffis Boardroom with the program, including a formal introduction of the 2012 MSU baseball team and staff by coach John Cohen to follow in the Palmeiro Center
“First Pitch” tickets are priced at $12 per person and are on sale through the MSU Athletics Ticket Office 662-325-2600 in the Bryan Athletics Administration Building. Tickets can also be purchased through the ticket office’s on-line operations (www.HailState.com/tickets).
A native of Holly Springs and a graduate of Germantown (Tenn.) High School, Maholm earned All-America and All-Southeastern Conference honors in 2002 and 2003. He concluded his MSU three-year career with a 27-10 record, a 3.55 ERA, and 273 strikeouts, third-most at MSU.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made Maholm the eighth player selected in the 2003 Major League Baseball draft, and in 2005 he made his Major League Baseball debut with the Pirates. In six-plus seasons, he is 53-73 record with a 4.36 ERA in 185 career starts.
Maholm, 29, who makes his offseason home in Hattiesburg, signed a free-agent contract with the Cubs on Jan. 10. He stands to become the fourth MSU player, and first since 1988 (Rafael Palmeiro), to play for Chicago.
Included in this year’s program is the presentation of the fourth annual DOGSBY Awards, a light-hearted presentation of special awards to Bulldog players and coaches fashioned after ESPN’s popular ESPY Awards.
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