April 26, 2007

ANNOUNCING THE
JUNIOR RAWLINGS GOLD GLOVE AWARD

Every year, Rawlings honors the top nine players – one at each position, in both the National and American Leagues, for their defensive skills that season. They award the coveted Rawlings Gold Glove Award® to 18 very proud Major League players.

Rawlings established the Rawlings Gold Glove Award® in 1957 to recognize excellence and performance in the field. This award has since been the measuring stick, the benchmark, the high bar of great defense. Since 1957, more than 250 major leaguers have won Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, and more than 150 have won multiple awards.

Rawlings is passionate about great defense – the plays and the players that amaze. But what about the great plays made all year by college players…by high school players…by youth players? The youth players make great plays – just like their big league heroes. And this year, they’ll have the opportunity to win a Rawlings Gold Glove – just like the pros.

In 2007, the 50th anniversary of the coveted Gold Glove Award, Rawlings will be giving national recognition in three new categories – high school, college and the youth level. What this means is the best defensive players in amateur baseball will be recognized and awarded with the same honors as Big Leaguers.

Those kids that constantly make the great plays ought to be famous! So how does it work? Easy. During this season, we encourage parents to video their kids (boys and girls 12 years old and younger) making incredible plays, whether it’s on the diamond, in the alley, on a vacant lot, or in the backyard – anywhere kids play baseball. The videos should be submitted online to www.rawlingsgoldglove.com/junior.

A gold-ribbon panel will select 10 finalists. Those 10 will have their incredible plays “called” by broadcaster Chris Berman and posted on the Rawlings website where fans will then vote for the most spectacular Junior Rawlings Gold Glove play. The finalists will receive a Rawlings Pro Preferred 50th Anniversary Gold Glove, and the player voted by the public to have executed the best defensive play will receive a Junior Rawlings Gold Glove Award…just like the pros!

Rawlings is now accepting videos, and the deadline for submission is July 10 (All Star Game). Voting begins August 1, and the overall winner will be announced September 13. The overall Junior Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner will make the cover of the November/December 2007 issue of Junior Baseball!

For complete contest rules and additional information, please visit www.rawlingsgoldglove.com/junior.

Rawlings and Babe Ruth League, Inc. have played great defense to win many championships over the years for our program. We are proud to have them as the Official Tournament baseball and softball, as well as the Official Helmet, for the Babe Ruth League organization.