AFLAC Honors Nation's Best High School Baseball Players
May 01 2004 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
AFLAC Honors Nation's Best High School Baseball Players First Five
Members of 2004 AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic
Team Announced COLUMBUS, Ga., May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- AFLAC announced
today in a press conference featuring Cal Ripken, Jr. at Ripken
Stadium in Aberdeen, Md., the first five of 38 players named to the
2004 AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic team. The
country's top rising high school juniors meet in the second annual
East versus West face-off game at Ripken Stadium on Aug. 6, 2004,
broadcast nationally on FOX Sports Net on Aug. 8. Official
selection partners Baseball America and Perfect Game chose the
players for their accomplishments both on, and off the field,
including involvement in the community. All-Americans Justin Upton,
SS, Greatbridge High School, Chesapeake, Va., and Justin Bristow,
SS/RHP, Mills E. Godwin High School, Richmond, Va., received their
2004 team jerseys from Honorary Chairman Cal Ripken, Jr. at the
event. Three additional All-Americans were announced, although not
present at the event: Andrew McCutcheon, CF, Fort Meade High
School, Fort Meade, Fla.; Buster Posey, SS/RHP, Lee County High
School, Leesburg, Ga.; and Shane Funk, RHP, Arnold High School,
Panama City, Fla. "Justin Upton would be the first position player
taken in this year's draft if he were eligible," said Jerry Ford,
Perfect Game USA president. With the press conference, AFLAC
kicks-off the official multi-city selection tour to honor chosen
AFLAC All-Americans in their hometowns. At each tour stop, AFLAC
representatives present players with game jerseys as well as award
trophies to the high schools. Additionally, AFLAC donates a
monetary gift to an area children's hospital as part of its ongoing
commitment to support the research and treatment of pediatric
cancer. All proceeds from the 2004 AFLAC All-American High School
Baseball Classic will be donated to the Johns Hopkins Hospital
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore. The 2003
inaugural game raised $20,000 for Children's Hospital of Southwest
Florida and $5,000 for the AFLAC Cancer Center. "AFLAC has a
long-standing relationship with baseball, while our philanthropic
focus is pediatric cancer treatment and research," said Kathelen
Spencer, executive vice president of AFLAC. "We are delighted to be
involved with an event that brings together both of our passions
while showcasing America's most talented high school players." The
AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic is endorsed by many
of the game's pillars, including Major League Baseball. "Major
League Baseball is happy to support AFLAC's effort to promote high
school baseball," said Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of
Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball. "We look forward to
helping grow this game into the pre-eminent event of its type." In
2003, the inaugural AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic
featured three players predicted to be among the top 10 selections
in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft: Chris Nelson, SS, Redan
High School, Decatur, Ga.; Matt Bush, SS, Mission Bay High School,
San Diego; and Nick Adenhart, RHP, Williamsport High School,
Hagerstown, Md. "The AFLAC All-American High School Baseball
Classic is an exciting promotion for the game of baseball," said
Jerry Ford, Perfect Game USA president. "This year's game will no
doubt launch a new group of future stars into the public
spotlight." AFLAC hired Sports America, Inc., an event management
and sports marketing corporation in Rockville, Md., to set up the
game and selection tour. Sports America has created and currently
produces the McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game
and the Jordan Capital Classic High School All-Star Basketball
Game. To learn more about the AFLAC All-American High School
Baseball Classic, or dates and stops on the official selection
tour, visit http://www.aflacall-american.com/. AFLAC Incorporated
(NYSE:AFL) is an international holding company. A Fortune 500
company, AFLAC insures more than 40 million people worldwide. It is
a leading writer of insurance products marketed at the worksite in
the United States, offering policies to employees at more than
294,600 payroll accounts. The company insures one out of four
Japanese households and is the largest life insurer in Japan in
terms of individual policies in force. In January 2003, AFLAC was
the number one insurance company in Fortune magazine's list of "The
100 Best Companies to Work For in America" and was included in the
overall listing for the fifth consecutive year. In March 2003,
Fortune also included AFLAC in its annual listing of "America's
Most Admired Companies." And in July 2003, Fortune named AFLAC to
its list of "America's 50 Best Companies for Minorities." AFLAC's
Internet address is http://www.aflac.com/. Media Contacts: Laura
Kane 706-596-3493 Dan Sabreen 301-424-9334 Stefanie Wuckovich
850-668-2222 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010525/AFLACLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: AFLAC Incorporated CONTACT:
Laura Kane of AFLAC Incorporated, +1-706-596-3493, or ; or Dan
Sabreen, +1-301-424-9334, or , or Stefanie Wuckovich,
+1-850-668-2222, or , for the 2004 AFLAC All-American High School
Baseball Classic Web site: http://www.aflac.com/
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/
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