Norfolk dentist Dr. Patrick Baker was honored as the 28th recipient of the Bud Metheny Award at the “Meet the Stars” Banquet Jan. 28 as part of the annual Greenwich Kitchens/ODU Baseball Clinic weekend. This year’s keynote speaker was New York Mets pitching great and Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. Proceeds from the dinner and clinic support ODU baseball scholarships.

Baker was a baseball letter winner in 1974 and ’75 for the Monarchs before transferring to William and Mary. “This is very, very gratifying,” said Baker. “Playing baseball at ODU was one of the highlights of my athletic career. I felt like it was an obligation to help in fund raising to give kids the same opportunities that I had.”

Baker has served on the university’s athletic medical staff as a volunteer since the early 1980s. He has been involved with the ODU Baseball Clinic for almost 20 years as a member of the planning committee. Additionally, he has served on the Intercollegiate Foundation board for the past 15 years.

In the community, Baker was a moving force in helping develop youth baseball on the west side of Norfolk. He helped to organize and develop the Naval Base Little League at Fleet Park in the 1980s. He helped establish Youth Fall Baseball at Fleet Park and coached youth teams in both the spring and fall for many years. In addition, he founded a youth basketball program at Norfolk Collegiate School 12 years ago and is currently chairman of Norfolk Collegiate’s athletic committee.

Baker is a 1973 graduate of Norfolk Academy, where he played baseball and was an All-Tidewater Conference selection his senior year as a pitcher. He was a Norfolk Sports Club scholarship recipient. He graduated from William and Mary in 1978 and from the School of Dentistry at the Medical College of Virginia in 1982. He received his certificate of general practice residency from East Carolina University School of Medicine in 1983.