Flores to be honored at annual banquet.
Jan. 10, 2013
NORMAN, Okla. -- The 10th Annual Diamond Dinner is slated for Saturday, Jan. 26 as former University of Oklahoma baseball legends return to Norman to help the Sooners open the 2013 season.
The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Three-time All-American catcher Javier Flores (1994-97) will be honored at the event. A four-year letterwinner, Flores helped lead OU to the 1994 national title and the '95 NCAA College World Series.
The annual benefit dinner, which is open to the public, will be held at the Embassy Suites (2501 Conference Drive) in Norman. The cost to attend is $30 per person and reservations are required. Fans interested in attending can contact the Oklahoma baseball office at (405) 325-8354. Fans will not be permitted to attend without reserving a spot in advance.
Current Oklahoma players and coaches will also be in attendance to join the former OU greats for an autograph session.
The University of Oklahoma Home Run Club is once again the official presenter of the event. Those interested in joining the Oklahoma baseball team's official support group can do so at the banquet, or by contacting the Oklahoma baseball office, with a donation of $50 for an individual and $75 for a family.
A native of Broken Arrow, Okla., Flores posted a career batting average of .344 with 20 home runs and 154 RBI as a four-year starter at backstop. He ranks third in OU history with 59 doubles, fifth with 768 at-bats, sixth with 264 hits, seventh with 219 games played and eighth with 84 extra-base hits.
Flores helped lead the Sooners to their first Big 12 Conference championship in 1997 and was a three-time first team all-conference honoree. He garnered All-America honors three times from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (1995 First Team, '96 & '97 Second Team). He was also honored twice from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ('95 Second Team, '97 Third Team) and once by both Sporting News ('97 First Team) and the American Baseball Coaches Association ('97 Third Team). Flores was named to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame ballot last February.
Flores was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 305th pick in the 10th round of the 1997 MLB Draft and spent five years in the minor leagues. He was also drafted by the Kansas City Royals with the 229th pick in the eighth round of the 1996 MLB Draft.
