'Caps hold Winter Baseball Banquet

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Detroit Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski headlined the 17th annual Whitecaps Winter Baseball Banquet Wednesday night.

The event was held at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

The Whitecaps' new manager, Ernie Young, as well as former Whitecaps and current Tigers Will Rhymes, Brennan Boesch and Joel Zumaya, and former Whitecaps and current Tigers head groundskeeper Heather Nabozny spoke at the podium.

The banquet included --

• A silent auction of sports memorabilia and other items
• A dinner
• A live auction
• Inductions of Zumaya, Nabozny and Cincinnati Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez into the Whitecaps Hall of Fame

The event raised $43,313, which will go to the Whitecaps RBI/YMCA Inner-City Youth Baseball and Softball Program and the Detroit Tigers Foundation, an affiliate of Ilitch Charities. This brings the total of funds raised for charity through the winter banquets during the past 17 years to more than $461,000.