The Old Timer’s Baseball Association 87th Annual Banquet Was an Evening to Remember Thanks to Don Mattingly and Over 500 Guests.

On January 19th, the Old Timers Baseball Association 2025 banquet was an evening that guests will surely remember. Over 500 people filled the Music City Sheraton to hear the guest speaker, Don Mattingly, grace the crowd.

But before Mattingly took the stage, Larry Schmittou, the former owner and president of the Nashville Sounds, greeted the audience as the evening’s guest of honor.

While president of the Nashville Sounds, the Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance during its inaugural season, and went on to lead the Southern League in attendance in each of Schmittou's seven seasons as president.

After sharing a few stories, Schmittou gave a hall-of-fame worthy introduction of Don Mattingly to the 500 guests in attendance. Mattingly played for the Sounds in 1981, before debuting with the Yankees in 1982.

He shared exhilarating stories about his legendary 13-year career with Yankees and his 10-year career (so far) as a MLB manager. Mattingly spoke with admiration about Rickey Henderson, who recently passed away and was arguably the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, as his favorite player and teammate.

Mattingly also spoke passionately about his Nashville roots and why he believes Nashville would be a great city to have it's very own MLB team. This year's banquet had many former Nashville Sounds players in attendance, including Mattingly's former batboy and play-by-play announcer from his 1981 season with the Sounds.

Banquet guests will likely always remember Mattingly and how gracious he was while signing autographs. He warmed the room, told memorable stories, and shared laughs with banquet attendees all evening long.

The Old Timer’s Baseball Association and its guests would like to thank Mr. Don Mattingly, also known as ‘Donnie Baseball’ & ‘The Hit Man’, for being one of best banquet speakers to date.

Please Enjoy The Photo Slideshow Below From The 2025 OTBA Banquet