When
it came time for EvoShield Baseball Director Mike Cavassini to
introduce Alex Bregman as the winner of the 2011 EvoShield SWAG
Award, he deferred instead to a large video screen.
Cavassini
and Bregman were in attendance at the Perfect Game All-American
Classic presented by Rawlings Awards Banquet, held the night of Aug.
13 at the San Diego Hall of Champions. Bregman, a PG All-American
catcher from Albuquerque, N.M., was one of six national award winners
to be honored.
When
the time came to announce the SWAG award winner, Cavassini pointed to
the video screen where Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon
Beckham appeared via a taped satellite feed.
Beckham,
among the first professional athletes to endorse EvoShield’s body
protection gear, then introduced and praised Bregman, before signing
off by ribbing Bregman ever-so-gently about his college commitment to
LSU. Beckham had committed to fellow SEC member Georgia before
signing professionally after the Chicago White Sox made him a first
round pick in the 2008 draft.
Beckham’s
ribbing was all in good fun, and Bregman proved to be a gracious SWAG
award recipient.
“It
was such an honor to be selected to the Perfect Game All-American
Classic, as well as receive the EvoShield award,” Bregman told
Perfect Game in an email. “The (Classic) was one of the highlights
of my baseball career that I will always cherish and remember. And
I’d like to thank EvoShield for the SWAG Award; it means a lot.”
Drew
Klipp, who works in EvoShield’s Event Sales division, said the
acronym “SWAG” was adopted when company officials were deciding
what to name their PG national award. Noting that the term “swag”
is often used in reference to much of EvoShield’s product line to
define it as “stylish or cool,” Klipp said EvoShield decided to
build off that term.
“To
us, the word ‘SWAG’ stands for Style, Willpower, Attitude and
Grit, four attributes that every leader on or off the field
demonstrates,” Klipp wrote in an email. “We at EvoShield were
thrilled to be able to present the first ever SWAG Award at this
year’s Perfect Game All-American Classic Awards Banquet.”
Bregman
does appear to possess plenty of SWAG.
Described
in a PG scouting report as having “a very impressive offensive
package that includes … a confident approach at the plate” and a
catcher who possesses a 1.87 pop time that “is the product of his
good physical attributes and arm strength behind the plate,”
Bregman has just started his senior year at the Albuquerque Academy
day school, where he carries a 3.5 GPA.
As
a 16-year-old in 2010, Bregman was named the USA Baseball Player of
the Year for his accomplishments as a member of the 16u National
Team. Perfect Game ranks Bregman as the nation’s No. 4 catching
prospect in the class of 2012.
“All
of us at EvoShield found that Alex Bregman was the epitome of what we
were looking for in the inaugural SWAG Award recipient,” Klipp
said. “Alex carries himself like an elite-level athlete should,
confident but always willing to learn more.
“The
leadership qualities that Alex has shown throughout high school
earned him the right to be a part of the Perfect Game All-American
Classic and we were honored to present the award to him.”
Everyone
seems to agree Bregman possesses a confidence and a self-discipline
that belies his 17 years. Ryan Brewer, a part-owner of the
Albuquerque Baseball Academy – an institution not affiliated with
the Albuquerque Academy where Bregman attends school – spoke with
Associated Press sportswriter Tim Korte for an article that was
published in January.
“He
never takes a pitch off, offensively, defensively and even when he’s
not playing. And just to be clear, Alex doesn’t sit on the bench
too much,” Brewer said.
“I
just love winning,” Bregman told Korte. “Every time I go out
there I try to win every pitch of the game. That’s what I love to
do, just competing.”
Bregman
told PG he is “very much looking forward to” his senior year in
high school, but admits he already has an eye on Baton Rouge –
regardless of Beckham’s feelings.
“When
I was growing up I always wanted to be a Tiger and now I have a
chance to live my dream,” he wrote in his email to PG. “I cannot
wait to get to LSU and dog-pile in Omaha after winning a National
Championship. Go Tigers!”
About
Evoshield
The
company now known as EvoShield,
LLC
was established in 2006. The initial team was comprised of a chemist,
a cardiologist, and a group of former collegiate and professional
athletes with a mutually unconventional idea; comfortable sports
equipment. For the past 5 and a half years, this passionate team has
been tirelessly designing a revolutionary material that will change
the world of sports protection. Unlike today's primitive
"one-size-fits-all" sports gear that is made of stiff
plastics and bulky foams, Evoshield's body-conforming Evoshield
technology raises the bar. Our high tech, lightweight material is a
creative fusion of 5 layers of fiberglass resin that reacts to
oxygen. When formed and fully hardened, the armor takes the impact of
a ball, hockey puck, or other obstructive objects and disperses the
energy through its 5 layers, lessening the probability of injury.
Evoshield's 5 layer protection has been tested
by a leading accredited sports science lab in the U.S., the same
facility that tests the leading sports companies in the world.
Our results speak for themselves, making us the evolution of sports
protection. For more information visit www.evoshield.com.