News - 12/05/2003

Northwest League (baseball)

Northwest League Announces All-Star Game

SPOKANE, WA--The Spokane Indians and the Northwest League announced yesterday that Spokane has been selected to host the Northwest League 50th Anniversary All-Star Game at Avista Stadium on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004. This will mark the first time in recent history that the Northwest League has held an All-Star game and will help celebrate and honor the league’s 50th Anniversary Season. No other short-season league in the country hosts an All-Star game and this one-time event will be the only Northwest League All-Star Game for many years to come.

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to host the Northwest League 50th Anniversary All-Star Game,” said Spokane Indians President Andrew Billig. “This is a great honor for our franchise and for the Inland Northwest. It is also appropriate that Spokane should host this event since Spokane was one of the original Northwest League cities when the league was founded in 1955.”

The All-Star Game will feature a team of Eastern Division All-Stars against a team of Western Division All-Stars. The 2003 Division Champion managers will manage each team, meaning that Spokane’s Darryl Kennedy will lead the Eastern Division All-Stars while Salem-Keizer’s Joe Strain will skipper the Western Division. Each Northwest League team will have between five and seven representatives chosen to play in the All-Star Game by a league-wide committee.

“This is a great opportunity for the Northwest League to showcase the excellent talent that has always been present in this league,” said Northwest League President Bob Richmond. “We are excited to have this game in Spokane because of their tremendous fan support and excellent facility.”

The All-Star Game will begin at 7:00 pm and will be preceded by a Home Run Derby featuring the league’s top power hitters. The winner of the Home Run Derby will receive a $500 cash prize and have a $1,000 donation made in their name to a charity from that player’s Northwest League city, generously donated by The Spokesman-Review.

Tickets for the Northwest League 50th Anniversary All-Star Game are now on sale and can be obtained by calling the Spokane Indians Ticket Office at (509) 535-2922. Tickets for the All-Star Game are available in the Reserved Bench sections of Avista Stadium for just $5.