Franklin Sports and Major League Baseball (MLB) extended its long-term partnership, now in its 40th year. The family-run Massachusetts-based company remains MLB’s official on-field batting glove supplier and a strategic youth participation partner.
In addition to the official batting gloves, Franklin is also the official sliding glove for the ball club. The sliding glove, a recent product trend among pro and amateur players, was launched as part of Franklin’s PRT-Series of protective products under the MLB Authentic Collection designation on March 12.
Franklin Sports also manufactures licensed youth baseball and softball products, including training products, bat and ball sets, and youth pitching machines. Franklin also remains the exclusive equipment partner of the Play Ball initiative, which includes grassroots events and retail programming.
“We are beyond thrilled to extend our relationship with MLB. This partnership not only solidifies the strong bond we’ve built over the years but also reflects our commitment to providing quality sporting goods for every age and level of participant in lockstep with Major League Baseball,” said Adam Franklin, president of Franklin Sports. “We are committed to being a proud partner of MLB and take great pride in our 250+ Major League athletes who step up to the plate each game wearing our product as well as the next generation using Franklin equipment at home.”
Franklin Sports also reported its continued support of Play Ball and Play Ball Weekend. Play Ball is baseball’s global youth initiative to inspire participation in baseball and softball, including casual play, formal leagues and special events. Play Ball Weekend is a global campaign by MLB, MiLB, and Partner League Clubs, as well as MLB’s international offices worldwide. Franklin Sports will continue its support of this initiative by supplying 50,000 Play Ball bat and ball sets for the 150 affiliated Clubs distributed during Play Ball weekend (June 14-16).
As the exclusive equipment partner of MLB, Franklin Sports reported it has also helped grow the league’s youth initiative by co-branding Franklin x Play Ball on over four million products sold at retail since 2021.
“Franklin Sports has been a staple in baseball for 40 years. Throughout our partnership, Franklin Sports has been invaluable in our efforts to build the foundation for the future of sport,” said Tony Reagins, chief baseball development officer. “We look forward to their continued support of PLAY BALL and youth who love our game.”
Franklin Sports batting gloves have a line-up of over ten Baseball Hall of Famers, including Mike Schmidt, Cal Ripken Jr., Edgar Martinez, Jim Rice, Kirby Puckett, and more. Throughout the tenure of the relationship, players who wore Franklin batting gloves have combined for over 600 All-Star appearances and 25 league MVPs. Four legendary members of the 3,000-hit club also wore Franklin batting gloves—Miguel Cabrera, Cal Ripken Jr, Craig Biggio, and Tony Gwynn.
Today, 250 active MLB athletes playing with Franklin batting gloves.
Franklin Sports’ partnerships in professional sports leagues began with Major League Baseball 40 years ago and this recent extension continues to highlight the value the brand sees for its longest-tenured league relationship. “Major League Baseball has and continues to be at the foundation of our brand alignments and sporting goods product lines,” said Franklin.
Image courtesy Franklin Sports
