MSU Baseball to Honor Steve Garvey

Thousands of student athletes have competed for Michigan State, but only a select few went professional.  Perhaps no greater athlete represented MSU in their sport than former MLB first baseman Steve Garvey.

Garvey, 65, played football and baseball at MSU from 1966-68 before being drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played 19 seasons for the Dodgers and San Diego Padres, making 10 All-Star games and winning the 1974 NL MVP. For his career he hit .294 with 2,599 hits and 272 home runs.

In 2010, Garvey was elected into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

On Sunday, MSU baseball will further honor Garvey and retire his number at their ninth annual First Pitch Dinner. Athletic Director Mark Hollis will be the keynote speaker for the event which will include a dinner, silent auction and player autographs.

The event will take place at the Kellogg Center. Tickets are $10 for children and MSU students and $50 for adults.

The First Pitch Dinner is not to only honor Garvey, but also help kick off the 2014 MSU baseball season. Their first game is on Feb. 14 against Monmouth University in the Wright State Invitational.


Michael Higer is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports.

Photo: Michigan State University Athletics