Rawlings Sporting Goods Company Inc., a subsidiary of Newell Brands, signed on as sponsor and supporter of the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Games for the WBC started on March 6.
Rawlings products will be used on field throughout the WBC. Rawlings was named “The Official Baseball, Batting Helmet and Catcher’s gear of the World Baseball Classic.”
“Rawlings is honored to have been chosen as the official sponsor for such a prestigious event in the baseball community,” said Mike Thompson, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Rawlings. “Being able to support the World Baseball Classic and baseball on a worldwide stage further cements our 130 years of authenticity in the game.”
The Rawlings advisory staff will be led by 2016 All-Stars, Francisco Lindor (Puerto Rico), Manny Machado (Dominican Republic), Nolan Arenado (USA) and Xander Bogaerts (Kingdom of the Netherlands).
Nine of the 2016 Rawlings Gold Glove winners are playing in the WBC including, Buster Posey (USA), Adrian Beltre (Dominican Republic), Brandon Crawford (USA), Salvador Perez (Venezuela), and Starling Marte (Dominican Republic) in addition to Lindor and Arenado.
“When the rosters were released it was amazing to see how many Rawlings Advisory Staff Members were on WBC teams,” said Thompson. “We wish them all the best of luck throughout the WBC.”
Other notable players include Matt Carpenter (USA), Tyler Clippard (USA), Bartolo Colón (Dominican Republic), Alcides Escobar (Venezuela), Jeurys Familia (Dominican Republic), Freddie Freeman (Canada), Paul Goldschmidt (USA), Adrián González (Mexico), Carlos Gonzalez (Venezuela), Sonny Gray (USA), Eric Hosmer (USA), Kenley Jansen (Netherlands), Adam Jones (USA), Jason Marquis (Israel), Yadier Molina (Puerto Rico), Jose Reyes (Dominican Republic), Hector Santiago (Puerto Rico), Giancarlo Stanton (USA), and Edinson Volquez (Dominican Republic).
Photo courtesy Rawlings
