A sellout crowd last night braved the N.Y.-area snowstorm to attend the 25th annual Baseball Assistance Team “Going to Bat for B.A.T.” fundraising dinner, which honored among others late MLBPA Exec Dir Michael Weiner and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. Weiner was honored with B.A.T.’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which was received by his widow, Diane. “This award affirms Mike’s life, the good work he was able to do with the time he had,” she said. Selig was unable to appear at the dinner due to the weather to accept a new leadership award named for him. He instead made his acceptance remarks through a taped message filmed yesterday afternoon in Milwaukee. “I am very proud to say that baseball has embraced its responsibility to make a difference in the lives of others,” Selig said. B.A.T. supports members of the baseball community in financial, psychological or physical need, and has raised more than $29M since its '86 inception. The event drew more than 75 former players and four Baseball HOFers -- Tommy Lasorda, Roberto Alomar, Orlando Cepeda and Rollie Fingers (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). Meanwhile, Weiner on Monday night was remembered for his "courage and grace" during a memorial service at N.Y. night club Stage Forty8. The crowd of "several hundred" included Baseball HOFer Dave Winfield, MLB COO Rob Manfred, Yankees President Randy Levine, arbitrator George Nicolau, many current players, retired players and agents. Current MLPBA Exec Dir Tony Clark hosted the program (AP, 1/21).
