Tag: Taco Bell Field

Coach Tom Dill to be Recognized with Dugout Naming

April 10, 2023 | Athletics Campus News

East Central College is celebrating the college’s first baseball coach, Tom Dill, with the naming of the Taco Bell Field home dugout.

The Tom Dill Dugout naming ceremony will be Saturday, May 6, at Taco Bell Field during the Region 16 Tournament hosted by ECC. The naming ceremony will be held between games at approximately 11:30 a.m. Food and drink will be available.

RSVP to the event here, by emailing the ECC Foundation at foundation@eastcentral.edu or calling 636-584-6506.

Dill was the founding skipper for the East Central Junior College Rebels baseball squad. He coached the baseball team for 16 seasons, from 1974-1990.

Dill coached many talented baseball players during his tenure, including Tom Henke, a Major League Baseball All-Star who played 14 seasons in the Majors and won the World Series in 1992 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Dill also was a faculty member at ECC from 1973 to 2000. He later served two six-year terms on the College’s board of trustees, including several years as board secretary.

If there is inclement weather, the ceremony will be rescheduled for Sunday, May 7.

Baseball diamond graphic with text: Baseball is back! Sprint 2022

Omir Santos, Former MLB Player, Reflects on ECC Days

February 14, 2022 | Athletics Campus News

In 2001, Omir Santos was the catcher for the last East Central College baseball team to take the field in more than 20 years.

After the 2001 season the ECC baseball field was empty for years to come, but Santos was just beginning his career in professional baseball.

“I was sad when I heard there was no longer baseball at ECC,” said the 40-year-old backstop. “But it is great to hear that baseball is back now.”

In just a few days, a new ECC baseball squad will take the field. The team plays its first game in Harrison, Ark., against North Arkansas College. A home opener at Taco Bell Field had been slated for Feb. 22 at noon, but weather and field conditions could change the date of the first game in Union.

Santos, 40, was recruited in 1999 from his hometown of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, to play baseball at ECC, where he played two seasons.

Santos was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2001 in the 21st round of the MLB draft. He made his way through the minor leagues with the Yankees affiliate club, and then played in the Majors for four different teams.

Santos is one of just two ECC players to play in the Majors. The other player, Tom Henke, was a dominant relief pitcher in the 1980s and 1990s.

Santos moved onto coaching and managing teams after his playing days and in January he was named the manager of the Lynchburg Hillcats, Virginia League Baseball team, an affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

Santos said he is looking into coming to the college to watch a game and show his son around ECC.

All-American Player

Santos attended ECC from 1999-2001, and during his freshman season, he was a key piece of the ECC team winning the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) title.

It was the first and only time in school history that the team won the conference title.

In 2000, Santos was named National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) 1st Team All-Conference and 1st Team All-Region.

He also garnered NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American honors after his sophomore season. He led the ECC team in batting average and runs batted in during his second collegiate season.

Santos was named a NJCAA Division 1, third-team All-American after his sophomore season in 2001.

At ECC

Santos said his time at ECC prepared him for the big leagues, and life in general.

“It was a cool experience,” he commented. “If I ever had to do it again, I would pick ECC — they gave me the opportunity to play baseball and go to school.”

“It was the first time that I left the house,” Santos remembered. “My parents were not there and being on my own It made me grow fast — I was cooking, doing laundry, things I was not prepared for.”

He added that ECC gave him his first experience being independent, but also a strong foundation for baseball at the highest level.

“When I first arrived at ECC, I did not know what to do,” Santos said, “but everyone made me feel comfortable.”

He was one of nine ballplayers from Puerto Rico, and there were many more international students attending the college.

“I had the opportunity to meet people from different places and cultures who were all going to school — and I got together with other students who also were far from home, so I was not alone.”

Santos still talks with teammates via social media.

“We keep in touch through Facebook and Instagram messages,” he said. “We don’t talk every day, but I still talk with some of the guys.”

East Central Baseball t-shirt back with Santos and number 29

Baseball Career

Santos played at the Major League level with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians (now called the Guardians). He made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2008, with the Baltimore Orioles.

He had a long professional career, 122 major league appearances where he totaled 80 hits, 41 RBI and 7 home runs. Santos was named to the Topps MLB All-Star Rookie Team in 2009 with the Mets.

Prior to taking the head spot with the Hillcats, Santos worked as the Akron Rubber Ducks bench coach, which also is a Cleveland Guardians affiliate. He resides with his wife Gelitza and two children in Kissimmee, Fla.

Santos owns and runs the Triple Crown Sports Academy, a baseball training facility and travel baseball organization.

Donor Recognized at Taco Bell Field Naming Ceremony

January 20, 2021 | Campus News

East Central College alumnus John Moroney has an affinity for baseball.

His relationship with the sport has taken him to the mound of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, to throw out the first pitch in game No. 1 of the 2011 World Series.

A more painful experience, Moroney said, was the time he was in the stands while the Cardinals played the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., when he was struck by a Lance Berkman foul ball, sending him to the emergency room of a D.C. hospital.

But Moroney’s latest brush with America’s pastime is right here at ECC — the naming of the Falcons’ Baseball field “Taco Bell Field,” where the ECC team will begin play in the Spring of 2022.

Moroney is the president and owner of W & M Restaurants, Union, which owns Taco Bell restaurants in St. Clair, Union and Washington, and more than a dozen fast-food restaurants in the region.

Late last year, Moroney committed to donating $25,000 to the ECC Foundation, purchasing the naming rights of the baseball field.

John and his family, including wife, Jeannine, and son, Patrick, were on hand Friday, Jan. 15, for a “groundbreaking” ceremony recognizing his contribution to the college.

“I am so honored to be able to do this. It is exciting, and there is baseball tradition here, obviously,” Moroney said.

While Moroney attended ECC in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the college had a baseball team. ECC had a baseball squad take the field from 1975 to 2001.

During that stretch, Major League Baseball standout Tom “The Terminator” Henke, former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays; and Omir Santos, former catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians played for the ECC team.

The team set to begin play next year will be coached by Coach Brandon Rains.

“When I was here the baseball team was pretty good,” Moroney remembered. “We had some great players.”

“There is a lot of interest in baseball locally,” he added. “We have Little League teams in all of the towns in the areas — the people around this community are excited for ECC’s baseball team to take the field next year.”

When the Falcon Baseball team takes the field next year, Moroney said he will be there to watch the crew during its inaugural season.

“It will be so neat to be able to come and watch games,” he commented. “I think it is incredible that ECC has done this.”

ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer, who also is an avid baseball fan, said there were vital components that were necessary to reintroduce baseball at ECC.

“When we first talked about doing this, it was very critical that we had a few things in place,” he said.

“We knew the only way that this would work is if we had interest from local players, support of local coaches and support of local individuals and businesses,” Dr. Bauer added.

Moroney played a very important role in the plans for the return of baseball at the college, according to Dr. Bauer.

“To have John step up like this as an alum, individually, and as a business leader getting this off the ground was extremely important to the success of this program,” he further added.

Dr. Bauer noted that Coach Rains already has signed local players and he is working on signing more from the area.

“This is really just an exciting development for East Central College, and it could not be done without local support,” he said. “That’s what a community college is about and that’s what this day is about.”

To learn more about baseball at ECC or donate to the campaign, visit the ECC Foundation.