THE PERFECT GAME ALL AMERICAN CLASSIC PRESENTED BY RAWLINGS STAYING IN SAN DIEGO IN 2013
Perfect Game in conjunction with Blue Ridge Sports & Entertainment announce that the Nation’s Top-Rated High School Baseball Players Will Compete in San Diego
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA. (June 26, 2013) – Jerry Ford, President of Perfect Game announced today that the 2013 Perfect Game All American Classic Presented by Rawlings will take place on Sunday, August 11th at Petco Park in San Diego, CA, home of MLB’s San Diego Padres. This is the 11th annual edition of the country’s premier high school baseball All Star Game.
The East vs. West match-up will feature the nation’s best high school players, battling at Petco Park for the fifth consecutive year, providing them with a rare opportunity to create Major League memories. Past alumni of this prestigious event include Nick Adenhart and Gio Gonzalez (2003), Buster Posey, Jeremy Hellickson, Andrew McCutchen and Justin Upton (2004), Madison Bumgarner, Matt Harvey, Jason Heyward and Rick Porcello (2006), Gerrit Cole (2007), Jameson Taillon and Bryce Harper (2009) and Jose Fernandez (2010). More than 67 players from previous Classics have already debuted in MLB. Six players have been selected No. 1 overall in the Major League Baseball Draft including Upton, Harper, and Cole.
The 2013 Perfect Game All American Classic Presented by Rawlings will be televised live nationally for the first time on MLB Network, Major League Baseball’s Emmy Award-winning 24/7 cable television network. "Following our telecast of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft earlier this month, we are excited to continue to spotlight top high school talent to baseball fans with the Perfect Game All-American Classic on MLB Network,” said Tony Petitti, President and CEO of MLB Network.
The selection show will be streamed LIVE on July 17th, 2013 on www.perfectgame.org
“Year after year I am impressed with the extraordinary high school talent this All American Baseball Classic brings to the forefront of the baseball world,” said Jerry Ford, President of Perfect Game. “These young athletes have the ability to become Major League stars of the next generation as many have already done before them.”
“We are very proud to be a part of THE PREEMINENT High School Baseball All American Game in the country. Perfect Game is the nation’s top independent baseball scouting service and Jerry Ford, and his team, excels every year in selecting the very best players, which is evident by the success the alumni for this game has had in the MLB.” said David Gardiner, President of Blue Ridge Sports & Entertainment, Inc. “Also, our game week is a little different than any others with the ancillary outings the players undertake, including a visit to Rady Children’s Hospital.”
The 2013 version of the Classic will include an even stronger focus on raising money for the event’s beneficiary, Rady Children’s Hospital. In the weeks leading up to the Classic, two San Diego-based players selected to play in the game—Brady Aiken from Cathedral Catholic High School and Alex Jackson from Rancho Bernardo High School—will conduct an online fundraising contest to raise funds for the Hospital. Also, during the game, a “Stand up for the fight against cancer” will be held during the 7th Inning of the game for the first time. Since the inception of the Classic, more than $700,000 has been raised to help prevent childhood cancer.