Former Major League Baseball manager and Sacramento native Larry Bowa spoke about respecting the game of baseball to Sacramento State baseball players, coaches and alumni at the second annual Diamond Dinner Friday to start the 2012 season.

The event, held at Hilton Arden West’s Grand Ballroom, celebrated and raised money for the upcoming season.

“The easiest thing to do is to play hard,” Bowa said. “If you can’t play hard for nine innings, then you shouldn’t even put the uniform on because you are wasting people’s time.”

Sac State senior catcher Derrick Chung took those words to heart.

After shaking Bowa’s hand and taking a picture with him, Chung said the speech motivated him to want to play hard.

“How often do you get to see a guy like that,” Chung said. “I feel like I’m part of something bigger than just a baseball team. I’m ready to go play tomorrow.”

Sac State assistant coach Jake McKinley was the mastermind who put the event together.

“This is an opportunity to allow the community to meet our players and coaches,” McKinley said. “It’s not only a fundraiser, but it’s certainly a way to raise awareness for our baseball program.”

Last year, the event generated nearly $15,000 with the money helping pay for travel and equipment, said head coach Reggie Christiansen.

“Being in the CSU system, we need to raise some money to help fund the program to treat our players as good, if not better, than other programs out there,” Christiansen said.

With both a silent and live auction, where people could bid on a various sports memorabilia, McKinley said the event raised nearly the amount of last year’s dinner.

Bowa, who managed the San Diego Padres from 1987-88 and the Philadelphia Phillies from 2001-04, said it meant a lot to come back to his hometown.

“This is where everything started for me and it’s really come full circle,” Bowa said, who was a graduate of McClatchy High School. “To do what I did at the big-league level and now watching these kids chase their dream, it is something special.”

While some players get drafted out of high school, Bowa told the team how important it was to get a college education.

“The No.1 thing is to get your degree,” Bowa said. “If you become a big league baseball player, you will have that degree to fall back on. If something should happen like you get hurt and it ends your career, without that degree, you are rolling the dice.”

After Bowa was finished, Christiansen spoke about his goals for the program and this season.

Last year Sac State showcased many young players and finished with a 19-39 record. Although the team was picked to finish last by WAC coaches, Christiansen said his ultimate goal is to make the Hornets a top-25 team.

“The great thing about sports is every year you get an opportunity to start over,” Christiansen said. “Last year was not a very good year and I think our players are looking forward to put that behind us and Friday, we will get that opportunity to start over.”

Ryan Kuhn can be reached at @rskuhn