December 13, 2019
The East Central Community College baseball program is hosting Around the Diamond with Tim Anderson Jan. 17, featuring the former Warrior All-American baseball player and current Major League Baseball batting champion.
Anderson, the starting shortstop for the Chicago White Sox, will headline the event scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Neshoba County Coliseum in Philadelphia.
The evening includes dinner, a question-and-answer period with Anderson and ECCC Head Baseball Coach Neal Holliman, a silent auction of sports memorabilia, and an autograph session.
The question-and-answer session will be moderated by Bart Gregory, an assistant athletic director at Mississippi State University, a 20-year broadcasting veteran of the Mississippi State Radio Network, and a play-by-play announcer for the SEC Network. Gregory, a Nanih Waiya native, is a 1997 graduate of ECCC, where he was selected to the college’s Student Hall of Fame.
Reserved seating in front of the stage with steak dinner is $75 per person. General admission seating with a ballpark meal of hamburgers and hotdogs is $30 per person. High school and travel teams can attend for $20 per player. Teams bringing 15 or more players receive two complimentary tickets for coaches.
“Base Hit” table sponsorships for eight can be purchased for $1,000 and include dinner, recognition in the event program, and entrance to a special meet and greet with Anderson at 5:30 p.m. prior to the Around the Diamond with Tim Anderson event. Additional sponsorships are available by contacting Holliman.
All proceeds go to support the ECCC baseball program and facilities.
Individual reservations for Around the Diamond with Tim Anderson can be made online at www.eccc.edu/estore. Team reservations, as well as individual reservations, can be made by contacting Holliman at nholliman@eccc.edu or 601-575-6722. The deadline for reservations is 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020.
A native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Anderson hit a Major League Baseball-best .335 during the recently completed season, with 18 home runs, 32 doubles, and 56 runs batted in.
He became only the third White Sox player to win the American League batting title. MLB Hall of Famers Frank Thomas (1997) and Luke Appling (1936 and 1943) also accomplished the feat.
Anderson played for East Central in 2012 and 2013, helping lead the Warriors to a Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges State Championship his sophomore year. He was first team National Junior College Athletic Association All-Region 23 and MACJC All-State both seasons, and first team NJCAA All-American in 2013. He led the nation in batting with a .495 average and was named the NJCAA Male Athlete of the Year in 2013.
Anderson was drafted by the White Sox in 2013 as the 17th overall selection in the Major League Baseball Draft.
