Fans of Mercer County Community College baseball know that the current program’s success is part of a tradition that dates back decades in the competitive world of community college baseball. Key to that legacy is former head coach Butch Miller, who led the Vikings for 21 seasons from 1973 to 1993 and compiled a 508-263 career record.
On Sunday, April 10 at 10:45 a.m., the college’s athletics department and baseball alumni will unveil and dedicate the Butch Miller Baseball Pavilion. The pavilion features picnic and pub tables, as well as park benches, and is located adjacent to the MCCC baseball field to afford spectators an optimal view of the action. A plaque will be placed at the edge of the area to commemorate Coach Miller’s contributions to the college and its players. Former and current MCCC athletes and community fans are invited.
The ceremony precedes a doubleheader starting at noon when the MCCC Vikings face Del Tech Owens. The 2016 team is currently 22-3 under fifth year head coach Kevin Kerins.
Leading the Butch Miller Tribute Committee is Randy Voorhees, a member of the MCCC baseball team that came in third at the 1981 Junior College World Series and earned the tournament’s Sportsmanship Award.
According to Voorhees, the honor couldn’t be more deserved. “Coach Miller has made a positive impact on hundreds of lives, both in the classroom and out on the baseball field. Personally, he impressed upon me the value of education, and he helped me learn how to be a man. I’ll never forget him nor will I be able to thank him enough,” he said.
Also part of the tribute committee and major donors for the pavilion are MCCC baseball alumnus Dave Dominici (’82), another key member of the ‘81 team, and former MCCC Athletic Director Al Leister, who led the department from 1973 to 1989.
In addition to the pavilion, the committee is planning to establish a baseball scholarship fund in honor of Coach Miller.
For more information about the event or to make a donation, call MCCC Athletic Director John Simone at (609) 570-3740 or e-mail simonej@mccc.edu.
