Aflac National High School Baseball Player of the Year Nominees Announced
July 28 2005 - 6:15PM
PR Newswire (US)
Aflac National High School Baseball Player of the Year Nominees
Announced - Jackie Robinson Award to be Presented on August 11 at
Aflac All-American Awards Dinner - COLUMBUS, Ga., July 28
/PRNewswire/ -- Aflac announced today the six nominees for the
second annual Aflac National High School Player of the Year Award,
given to the nation's top prep baseball player. The player of the
year recipient will be presented with the Jackie Robinson Award, a
physical trophy named in honor of the late Hall of Fame baseball
player. Rachel Robinson, his widow, will present the award at the
Aflac All-American Awards Dinner, which will be held at the Wyndham
Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel on Aug. 11, 2005. The six player of
the year nominees are: -- Dellin Betances, RHP, Grand Street Campus
HS - New York, N.Y. -- Jeremy Jeffress, RHP, Halifax County HS -
South Boston, Va. -- Cody Johnson, OF, Mosley HS - Panama City,
Fla. -- Aaron Miller, LHP/1B, Channelview HS - Channelview, Texas
-- Max Sapp, C, Bishop Moore HS - Windermere, Fla. -- Jordan
Walden, RHP, Mansfield HS - Mansfield, Texas The inaugural Jackie
Robinson Award was presented last August to Aflac All-American
Justin Upton, a shortstop from Great Bridge HS (Chesapeake, Va). In
the 2005 Major League Baseball draft in June, Upton was the No. 1
overall pick and was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The award
is named after Jackie Robinson, the first player to break the color
barrier in Major League Baseball, and recognizes the nation's top
rising senior, who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits
leadership and embodies the values of being a student-athlete in
both his schoolwork and community affairs. "I am proud to have
Jackie Robinson's name associated with this prestigious award,"
said Rachel Robinson. "The award stands for all the ideals Jack
symbolized and celebrates the student athletes who strive for
excellence and give back to the community." The player of the year
nominees were determined by official Aflac All- American Baseball
Classic selection partners Perfect Game and Baseball America.
"Aflac is extremely proud to sponsor this prestigious award for the
second year in a row," said Al Johnson, second vice president,
Advertising and Branding at Aflac. "Not only will this award be
presented to a well-deserving high school athlete, but it is named
for a true leader in the game of baseball and in social issues off
the field." The third annual Aflac All-American High School
Baseball Classic will be played on Saturday, Aug. 13 at Ripken
Stadium in Aberdeen, Md. The event is the nation's elite high
school baseball showcase featuring the top 38 rising senior players
in an East vs. West match-up. Cal Ripken Jr. is the honorary
chairman of the 2005 game, which will be televised live nationally
on Fox Sports Net at 2:05 p.m. EDT. Proceeds from the game will
benefit the Division of Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins Sidney
Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore. For more information about the
Aflac National High School Player of the Year nominees, visit the
event's official website at http://www.aflacallamerican.com/.
Sports America, Inc., is a sports marketing and event management
firm based out of Rockville, Md., which created and currently
produces the Aflac Classic. Sports America also produces the
McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game and Jordan
Classic High School All-Star Basketball Game. For 50 years, Aflac
products have given policyholders the opportunity to direct cash
where it is needed most when a life-interrupting medical event
causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of
guaranteed- renewable insurance in the United States and the number
one insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in
force in Japan. Aflac's insurance products provide protection to
more than 40 million people worldwide. In January 2005, Aflac was
included in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to
Work For in America for the seventh consecutive year. Aflac has
also been included in both Forbes magazine's Platinum 400 List of
America's Best Big Companies and in Fortune magazine's listing of
America's Most Admired Companies for five consecutive years. Aflac
Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit
aflac.com. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050728/CLTH114 ) (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050721/CLTH055LOGO
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO ) Media
Contacts: Mechell Clark Dan Sabreen Aflac Incorporated Sports
America, Inc. (706) 243-8004 (301) 424-9334
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050728/CLTH114
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050721/CLTH055LOGO
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aflac CONTACT: Mechell
Clark of Aflac Incorporated, +1-706-243-8004, or ; or Dan Sabreen
of Sports America, Inc., +1-301-424-9334, or Web site:
http://www.aflac.com/ http://www.aflacallamerican.com/
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