O's to host youth baseball tournament, Toys for Tots collection in Sarasota this weekend

With the holiday season underway, the Orioles will host a youth baseball tournament and help a worthy cause this Saturday, December 7. The Orioles invite Sarasota area residents to bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program to the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex in Twin Lakes Park anytime between 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., then stay to watch games played as part of the Suncoast Travel Ball's Toys for Tots Baseball Tournament. Donated toys will be distributed to economically disadvantaged children in the Sarasota area. "The Orioles are proud to support Toys for Tots, a program that recognizes and celebrates the value of play in every child's development," said David Rovine, Vice President, Orioles-Sarasota. "We invite the community to bring a toy for donation and stay to watch some terrific youth baseball at the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex." The tournament will bring more than 85 youth baseball teams for games at various locations in Sarasota County on December 7 and 8. Teams in the tournament will also donate toys to the collection. By the end of 2013, the Buck O'Neil and Ed Smith Stadium complexes will have hosted 14 baseball tournaments and welcomed more than 25,000 players, families and spectators to various youth baseball practices, games, tournaments and clinics. The Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex at Twin Lakes Park is located at 6700 Clark Road in Sarasota. Toys will be collected at the North entrance to the complex, directly behind the Buck O'Neil administrative building. For additional information about Toys for Tots in Sarasota, call 941-925-4014.