Reading, Pa. (Jan. 18, 2012) - The Reading Phillies will honor Alvernia University Baseball Head Coach Yogi Lutz as the 2012 King of Baseballtown at their annual winter banquet on Tuesday, January 24, at the Crowne Plaza Reading Hotel.  Lutz will be the 10th King of Baseballtown and the first with Alvernia ties.

 

Lutz will enter his 26th season as head man for the Crusaders with an overall record of 656-303-5.  He was a seven-time champion in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2005). The Crusaders won the 2009 Freedom Conference in their only season in the league and have represented the Commonwealth Conference in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional each of the last two years.  Last season they came within one win of advancing to the Division III World Series.  Lutz and the Crusaders have eight Regional appearances and two ECAC titles under their belts (2001 and 2008).

Lutz earned his 400th win as his team won the PAC championship in 2003 in a 19-18 win over Gwynedd-Mercy College.  He won #500 in an 11-9 comeback over Rutgers-Camden during Spring Break in Arizona in 2007 and won his 600th game in 2010 in the first game of a doubleheader sweep of crosstown rival Albright.

In his time with Alvernia, Lutz has picked up six Coach of the Year Awards (KAC 1988; NAIA Dist. 19 1991, 1992; PAC 1993, 1995, 2003).  He also received the Louisville Slugger Coaches Award in 1995 and 1998.

Lutz's son Zach played three years for his dad at Alvernia collecting several school records before being selected by the New York Mets in the fifth round of the 2007 draft. He was added to the team’s 40-man roster prior to the 2011 season and will report to spring training this February with hopes of making his big league debut sometime this year.  Former Crusaders Anthony Recker and Wade Miller have already made their major league debuts with Recker getting the call this past September for the Oakland A's and Miller played nine seasons with three different teams after making his debut with the Houston Astros in 1999.

Baseballtown
The Reading Phillies trademarked the name Baseballtown in 2002 and began programs in its name with goals to honor Reading's rich baseball history and secure its future by giving more kids the opportunity to play and learn from the game's life lessons.

In 2006 Baseballtown Charities realized a dream that accomplished both of its goals when Gordon Hoodak Stadium at Lauer's Park opened in Reading. The ballpark is located behind Lauer's Park Elementary School, which was named for the former stadium that housed several professional teams and hosted barnstorming tours from 1907-1941. Both Babe Ruth and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson played there. Gordon Hoodak Stadium is the home field of the Olivet Boys and Girls Club's RBI leagues (Revitalizing Baseball in the Inner City) and has rekindled interest in baseball among inner-city youth. Gordon Hoodak is the principal of Lauer's Park Elementary School.

Previous King's of Baseballtown
Boston Red Sox icon, the late "Broadway" Charlie Wagner (2003); former Reading Indian and long-time Reading High coach Paul "Cooter" Jones (2004); former Major Leaguer, front office executive and scout Dick Gernert (2005); fast-pitch softball manager Rocky Santilli, who owns 2,000+ wins in local, national and international competition (2006); Francis "Ducky" Turner, longtime stadium improvement activist (2007); former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Ruth Hartman (crowned "Queen" in 2008), Reading native and Albright College professor emeritus, Dr. David Q. Voigt (2009); Bechtelsville native and 1957 Eastern League Champion Carl Mathias (2010), and Boyertown native Dick Ludy , who guided the Boyertown Legion baseball team to the 1982 Legion World Series championship (2011).

Additional information for this story provided by ReadingPhillies.com