Aflac Honors Nation's Top Prep Baseball Players with Jackie Robinson Award Nomination
July 23 2007 - 12:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
COLUMBUS, Ga., July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's best arms, the
best speed and the best bats are among the finalists nominated for
the fourth annual Aflac National High School Player of the Year
Award, given to the country's top prep baseball player. The Player
of the Year recipient will be presented with the Jackie Robinson
Award, a trophy named in honor of the late Hall of Famer. Sonya
Pankey, Robinson's granddaughter, will present the award at the
Aflac All-American Awards Dinner held at the San Diego Hall of
Champions on Aug. 10, 2007 in San Diego. Also on hand for the
ceremony will be Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, honorary chairman for
the 2007 Aflac All-American Baseball Classic. The Player of the
Year nominees are: Isaac Galloway, OF, Los Osos HS - Rancho
Cucamonga, Ca. Sonny Gray, RHP, Smyrna HS - Smyrna, Tenn. Eric
Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS - Cooper City, Fla. Ethan Martin,
3B, Stephens County HS - Toccoa, Ga. Harold Martinez, INF, Braddock
HS - Miami, Fla. Tim Melville, RHP, Holt HS - Wentzville, Mo. The
inaugural Jackie Robinson Award, presented in 2004, went to Aflac
All- American alumnus Justin Upton, a shortstop from Great Bridge
HS (Chesapeake, Va.). The Arizona Diamondbacks made Upton the No. 1
overall pick of the 2005 Major League Baseball June draft. In 2005,
Cody Johnson, a first baseman/outfielder from Mosley HS (Panama
City, Fla.), won the award. Johnson was taken No. 24 in the first
round by the Atlanta Braves. Last year, Michael Burgess, a
pitcher/outfielder from Hillsborough HS (Tampa, Fla.), won the
award. Burgess was taken No. 49 in the first round (a supplemental
first round selection) by the Washington Nationals in this year's
MLB June draft. The Jackie Robinson award, named after the first
player to break the Major League Baseball color barrier, recognizes
the nation's top rising senior who demonstrates outstanding
character, exhibits leadership and embodies the values of being a
student athlete. The player of the year nominees were determined by
official Aflac All-American Baseball Classic selection partners
Perfect Game and Baseball America. The fifth annual Aflac
All-American High School Baseball Classic will be played Saturday,
Aug. 11, at San Diego State's Tony Gwynn Stadium. 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. The game will
be televised live nationally on Fox Sports Net at 3 p.m. Eastern
time. Proceeds from the game will benefit the San Diego's Rady
Children's Hospital and Health Center. To learn more about the
Aflac National High School Player of the Year nominees and the
Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic, visit
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/. About Aflac: For more than 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. Our insurance products provide
protection to more than 40 million people worldwide. Aflac has been
included in Fortune magazine's listing of America's Most Admired
Companies for seven consecutive years and in Fortune magazine's
list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for nine
consecutive years. Aflac has also been recognized three times by
both Fortune magazine's listing of the Top 50 Employers for
Minorities and Working Mother magazine's listing of the 100 Best
Companies for Working Mothers. 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 http://aflac.com/. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050721/CLTH055LOGO ) Media
Contacts: Tim Turner Aflac Incorporated 706-243-5594 Jeff Heckelman
Edelman Sports 212-642-7718
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050721/CLTH055LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aflac Incorporated CONTACT:
Tim Turner of Aflac Incorporated, +1-706-243-5594, ; Jeff Heckelman
of Edelman Sports, +1-212-642-7718, Web site:
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/ http://www.aflac.com/
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