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BLACKSBURG - Former Major League Baseball player and manager Charlie Manuel was the honored guest at the Hokies’ eighth annual Baseball Night in Blacksburg, held Saturday evening, Feb. 7, in the West Side Stadium Club of Lane Stadium, and his stories certainly entertained the crowd.

Manuel, a native of southwest Virginia, was recounting stories from his times playing in the minor leagues, the major leagues and his time in Japan, and also talked about his stints as manager of both the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies.

“I'd like to thank Charlie Manuel for generously donating his time and sharing such incredible stories at our event,” Tech head coach Patrick Mason said. “But, I also want to say 'thank you' to all who came in support of our program. It was a great night.”

Other proceedings on the night included the Chuck and Ellen Hartman Service Award recipient recognition – an award that goes to a person that has made significant contributions to the baseball program over the years – and that went to Tech baseball administrative assistant Maryanne Baffi.

In front of one of the largest crowds for a Baseball Night, Mason also spoke to the crowd for about 10 minutes and talked about the previous season, introduced the newest members of his coaching staff and gave his thoughts on the 2015 baseball season.

All proceeds of the program will go to Virginia Tech baseball and the Hokies’ efforts to improve various aspects of their program. The team opens its 2015 season this weekend with a three-game series at Mercer in Macon, Georgia (click here for schedule).

See images from the night by checking out the photo gallery (on the right side of this page). Also, a short video highlighting the evening can be viewed here.

For updates on Virginia Tech baseball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Baseball