Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Sam Fuld Heat Up Hot Stove Dinner

The Seacoast Mavericks first Hot Stove Dinner and Auction was greeted with a lot of excitement and energy just a month after the Futures Baseball Collegiate League team announced they would call Portsmouth home.

Boston Red Sox Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Sam Fuld, a Durham native, added even more buzz to the evening.

"This is a great opportunity for a lot of people to do great things and do great things for this game," said Saltalamacchia referring to the money the dinner's guests would raise via the live and silent auctions for the Mavericks baseball scholarship programs.

Fuld said being able to help the Seacoast Mavericks promote their team allowed him to come home. "Doing an event like this really hits home for me," he said.

Fuld said that after growing up in Durham, playing in the Oyster River Little League and attending Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine for a year, he has a strong connection to the Seacoast that stays with him. "I got an opportunity to play catch with my dad at the UNH Field House today and that was really cool," said Fuld, who began his Major League career with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 and now plays for the Tampa Bay Rays.

He said Portsmouth is a great city to host a collegiate summer baseball team. "I can't think of a better place to play collegiate summer baseball than Portsmouth," he said. 

Fuld added that Portsmouth area residents will cherish the relationships they will develop with the players that they host. He recalled how he played one summer in the Cape Cod League and saw his host mom at Fenway Park when he made his debut.

Seacoast Mavericks President Mike Daboul said the team is thrilled that it will play all of its 2013 home games at Leary Field in Portsmouth. He said the team has pledged more than $30,000 to improve the field and stadium this off season. "Our first full season in Portsmouth is a dream come true for all of us," he said.

Daboul thanked Mayor Eric Spear, Recreation Department Director Rus Wilson and City Manager John Bohenko for their support.