COLONIE — There will never be another Bison baseball player who will wear No. 23.
That’s because two former Shaker High School pitchers – Tommy Kahnle and Jeff Hoffman – by coincidence both wore the number and are now playing in the Major Leagues.
Kahnle, Class of ’07, is with the New York Yankees and Hoffman, Class of ’10, is with the Colorado Rockies.
Hundreds of fans came to the high school on Thursday, Dec. 21 to meet the ballplayers and maybe get a photograph signed.
“It’s a true honor to have this happen, I would like to thank my family and friends and the Shaker community who helped me get to where I am,” said Kahnle, who as a hard-throwing late-inning reliever has 233 strikeouts in 192 innings in his career.
“Just seeing the support for Tommy and myself is overwhelming,” Hoffman said. “It hasn’t been an easy road for either of us, we’ve had some adversity along the way and it’s a testament to the support we had when we were young and coaches we had coming up.”
The ceremony took place between the Shaker girls and boys varsity basketball games a packed gymnasium had to wait through two OTs before the Shaker girls beat Saratoga.
“It’s such an honor and privilege to honor Tommy and Jeff this evening,” said Superintendent Joseph Corr. “Their perseverance and hard work is wonderful example for the entire North Colonie Community.”
Click on a photo below to view a full size version of the rest.