WORLD CHAMPS TO OPEN2008 SEASON IN JAPAN

THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL H 2007 SEASON-IN-REVIEW

THEWORLDSERIESCHAMPIONBOSTONREDSoxwill face theOakland Athletics in Tokyo,Japan to open the 2008 MLB Champi-onship Season this March.

JapanOpening Series 2008 fea-tures theRed Sox beginning theirWorldSeries titledefense ina two-game set versus the nine-time WorldSeriesChampionAthleticsonMarch25and26at theTokyoDome.Thegameswillmarkthe third timeMLB has opened its season in Tokyo.As part of Japan Opening Series 2008, both MLB

Clubswill alsocompeteagainstNipponProfessionalBaseball (NPB) teams in day/night doubleheaders

scheduled forMarch 22 and 23.ThiswillmarkthefirstMLBseasonopener inJapansince theNew York Yankees and TampaBay Rays

played in front of sell-out crowdsat theTokyoDomein2004.Over thepastdecade,eightMLBClubshaveex-perienced international openers.

Overall, nearly 700,000 fans have at-tended 15 MLB Opening Series games inMonterrey, Mexico (Coloroado Rockies vs.

San Diego Padres - 1999); Tokyo, Japan (New YorkMets vs. Chicago Cubs - 2000 and Yankees vs. Rays- 2004); and San Juan, Puerto Rico (Texas Rangersvs. Toronto Blue Jays - 2001).

I N T E R N A T I O N A LSTARS LEAD CLUBSIN THE POSTSEASONInternational stars played alarger role in this year’spostseason than ever before.A record number (16) offoreign-born players were onWorld Series rosters for theBoston Red Sox and ColoradoRockies, fitting in a seasonwhen a record-high 246foreign-born players were onMLB Club rosters (as ofOpening Day).The World Series ChampionRed Sox teamed rookies likeDaisuke Matsuzaka (Japan)and Jacoby Ellsbury (UnitedStates) with veterans DavidOrtiz (Dominican Republic)and World Series MVP MikeLowell (Puerto Rico) to earntheir rings. National LeagueChampion Colorado utilizedstaff ace Jeff Francis(Canada), closer MannyCorpas (Panama) andbackstop Yorvit Torrealba(Venezuela) to win anincredible 21 out of their final22 games to make it to theFall Classic for the first timein franchise history.Overall, the 2007 postseasonfeatured 65 foreign-bornplayers representing 10different countries andterritories, including Canada,Colombia, Cuba, theDominican Republic, Japan,Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico,Taiwan and Venezuela.

GET

TYIM

AGES

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE OOFF EEVVEENNTTSS -- JJAAPPAANN OOPPEENNIINNGG SSEERRIIEESS 22000088DATE GAME VENUESaturday, March 22 Boston Red Sox vs. NPB Club Tokyo DomeSaturday, March 22 Oakland Athletics vs. NPB Club Tokyo DomeSunday, March 23 Boston Red Sox vs. NPB Club Tokyo DomeSunday, March 23 Oakland Athletics vs. NPB Club Tokyo DomeTuesday, March 25 Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics Tokyo DomeWednesday, March 26 Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics Tokyo Dome

Boston Red Sox Hideki Okajima(left) and Daisuke Matsuzaka showoff their World Series Championshiptrophy after dousing each otherwith champagne in celebration.

L

Canadian Jeff Francis

MLBI AND SHANGHAI MEDIA GROUP (SMG)reached a groundbreaking, three-year agree-ment this season that significantly increased

exposure for MLB in the People’s Republic of China.This deal was a first-of-its-kind endeavor for MLB witha local Chinese television partner, and will bring theMLB All-Star Game and World Series, along with aunique version of “This Week in Baseball,” to GreatSports – China’s leading cable sports channel – forthe next three seasons.The agreement was launched in July with coverage

of the 2007 All-Star Game and has continued through-out the second half of the 2007 Championship Seasonon a weekly basis with a China-specific edition of“This Week in Baseball.” Produced and aired by SMG,the show includes a weekly recap of MLB action andfeatures segments entitled “Baseball Basics” and “Base-

ball in China” that highlight the most important ele-ments of the game and provide viewers with in-depthcoverage of the local baseball scene. The World Series,MLB All-Star Game and “This Week in Baseball,” willair on Great Sports through 2009.

2

MARKETING

MLBI SIGNS LANDMARK TV DEAL IN CHINA

MLB IN CHINA

ARIZONADIAMONDBACKSEric ByrnesStephen DrewOrlando HudsonBrandon WebbChris B. Young

2

BALTIMOREORIOLESErik BedardDaniel CabreraNick MarkakisBrian RobertsMiguel Tejada

CHICAGO CUBSRich Hill Derrek LeeAramis RamirezAlfonso SorianoCarlos Zambrano

ATLANTA BRAVESJeff FrancoeurTim HudsonChipper JonesJohn SmoltzMark Teixeira

BOSTON RED SOXJosh Beckett David OrtizJonathan PapelbonDustin PedroiaManny Ramirez

2007 STAR PLAYERS

YOUTH BASEBALL ACADEMY OPENS IN CHINA THIS AUGUST

EXPANSION OF MLBSHOPS CONTINUESTHROUGHOUT CHINA

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL INTERNATIONAL(MLBI) and the China Baseball Association (CBA)conducted the first-ever China Baseball Acad-

emy in Wuxi, China this past August. The Academy pro-vided professional instruction to elite young baseballtalent from across the country at the Jiangsu ProvincialBaseball Field in Wuxi from August 7 to 26.The MLBI China Baseball Academy features a train-

ing schedule aimed at improving all facets of the gamefor 60 of China’s top-rated 12-to-15-year-old baseballplayers. MLBI and the CBA selected this year’s Academyparticipants from existing provincial baseball organiza-tions in Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shanghai,Shenzhen, Tianjin and Wuxi.

MLBI LAUNCHED ITS GRASSROOTS YOUTHbaseball program, Play Ball!, in five citiesacross China this September. The program

is now incorporated into the physical education cur-riculum for students aged eight-to-12 in 120 ele-mentary schools in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai,Tianjin and Wuxi.Play Ball! China will reach more than 100,000 el-

ementary school students in 2007 alone. Partici-pating students will be introduced to the rules ofthe game and instructed on developing their base-ball skills as part of their in-school physical edu-cation programs. Nagase Kenko Corporation serves as an official

supplier of Play Ball! China. The world-renownedKenko Air Safety Baseballs, combining the per-formance of a real baseball with greater safety anddurability, are the only baseballs used in the pro-gram.In preparation for the first

season of Play Ball! inChina, MLBI con-ducted coachingclinics, led by top-level Americancoaches, for morethan 400 physicaleducation teachersi n B e i j i n g ,Guangzhou andShanghai this summer.

MLBI INVITES STUDENTS TOPLAY BALL! ACROSS CHINA

Major League Baseball Interna-tional continues to aggressivelyopen Major League Baseball-

branded shops in China. Since April2007, a total of 30 MLB shops openedin more than 16 cities across the coun-try, including five in capital city Bei-jing, six in the commercial center ofShanghai and three in baseball-crazyTianjin. These stores are managed byChinese master licensee, EversportsMarketing Limited. The stores exclu-sively sell MLB products, prominentlyfeaturing casual sportswear as wellas fashion apparel and accessories.Plans are currently underway to opena 120-square-meter MLB flagship storein Beijing at Wangfujin CommercialArea by the end of 2007.

MLB Director of Game Development in China, Rick Dell,instructs at the inaugural Academy in Wuxi this August.

The MLB Shops in Tianjin (above) andShanghai (below) have been heavilytrafficked by baseball fans in Chinalooking to show off their team pride!

MLBI HIGHLIGHTED THE DREAM BIGcampaign in an extensive advertisementprogram on one of Japan Railway’s most

popular train lines, the Yamanote line, for twoweeks this August. With stops in many of Tokyo’smost popular areas, the Yamanote line averagesnearly 4.35 million riders each day. Ten (10) traincars were decorated with Dream BIG-themed ad-

vertising (pictured above), licensed consumerproduct photos and retail information for morethan 60 Major League Baseball partners. Eachcar was also equipped with a TV screen that wasstationed above doors where riders were able towatch MLB game footage. MLB distributed lim-ited edition postcards at participating retail loca-tions if they mentioned the Dream BIG train.

SHOGAKUKAN CAMPAIGNShogakukan featured a unique DreamBIG promotion this August for childrenin grades one through six. Their sweep-stakes asked kids to design their “DreamBallpark” or “Dream Uniform” and en-ter to win a trip to Seattle, WA to watchthe Chicago White Sox take on the Seat-tle Mariners. Six winners – one from eachgrade – received a dream trip that in-cluded a tour of SAFECO Field, an inter-view with Ichiro Suzuki’s translators andphotos with the Mariners Moose. Thewinners also watched batting practiceon-field where they met MLB stars JoseGuillen and Ichiro Suzuki!

CELEBRATING A DECADE The 2007 MLB season marked the 10thanniversary of the MLB brand’s pres-ence in the Korean apparel market viamaster licensee F&F. The logos of Ma-jor League Baseball and the 30 MLBClubs are now easily recognizable onhigh-end fashion apparel. Korean celebri-ties can be seen on television and inmagazines wearing MLB products, mak-ing the apparel a must-have amongyoung people. With the success of the ‘ILive For This’ campaign, business vol-ume has rapidly grown over the pastthree years, making MLB stand outamong sport brands in Korea.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL INTERNATIONAL’S LAUNCH ofthe Dream BIG campaign in Japan this season proved tobe an effective marketing tool. Resonating with fans and

consumers while demonstrating the position of MLB at the pinna-cle of the sport of baseball, the Dream BIG campaign was heavilyutilized by all partners in thecountry, including licensees, re-tailers, broadcasters and sponsors. Focusing on the drive and per-severance necessary to reach dreams, the campaign featured positivedirectives, such as “practice,” “work hard” and “have confidence.”MLB superstars from Chase Utley to Miguel Cabrera to David Wrightappeared in print advertisements throughout the duration of thecampaign as a representation of how they have achieved their dreamsof making it to the major leagues. The Dream BIG campaign captured the emotional, intellectual and

physical aspects of the game of baseball, as well as many other pur-suits in life. This campaign’s clear and achievable call to action ap-peals to everyone who has ever had the chance to “dream big.”

3

MARKETING

ALL ABOARD THE DREAM BIG TRAIN

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WANTS FANS TO‘Dream BIG’ IN JAPAN

3

CHICAGOWHITE SOXMark BuehrleJermaine DyeBobby JenksJim ThomeJavier Vazquez

CLEVELANDINDIANSFausto CarmonaTravis HafnerJhonny PeraltaC.C. SabathiaGrady Sizemore

DETROIT TIGERSCarlos GuillenMagglio OrdonezPlacido PolancoGary SheffieldJustin Verlander

CINCINNATI REDSAdam DunnEdwin EncarnaciónKen Griffey Jr.Aaron HarangBrandon Phillips

COLORADOROCKIESGarrett AtkinsJeff FrancisTodd HeltonMatt HollidayTroy Tulowitzki

2007 STAR PLAYERS

The Dream BIG-themed trainfeatured worldwide superstars likeDerek Jeter, Daisuke Matsuzaka,Hideki Matsui and Albert Pujols.

IN AUGUST 2007, NEW EDITION BV, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALLInternational’s licensee for a range of “back to school” items in theNetherlands, ran a special promotion with retail giant Vroom und

Dreesman. One (1) lucky winner and a friend won the trip of a lifetime tosee the New York Yankees take on their American League East rivals, theTampa Bay Rays at historic Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Thetrip also included a helicopter ride around Manhattan for a bird’s eye viewof the Big Apple!

MMLBI RECENTLY TEAMED WITH RETAIL POWER-house GrupoRamos in theDominican Republic.ActivaGlobal Sports & Entertainment LLC, a key driver in

forming this new relationship, created a special collectiblemedallion set featuring top Dominican major leaguers, soldonly in Grupo Ramos stores and promoted through El Diario Li-bre newspaper. To launch this promotion, Grupo Ramos organized a two-day

event to honor Osvaldo José Virgil – the first MLB player fromthe Dominican Republic – with a special award (pictured above).Also in attendance was Mr. Met whose New York team is hometo some of the best Major League Baseball players from theDominican Republic, including Pedro Martínez, Moises Alouand Jose Reyes.

With two very popular flagship stores in New York City and Buffalo,New Era has set its sights on conquering London. Located in theheart of two of the trendiest shopping areas in the world, Carnaby Street and Covent Garden,just off of London’s Regent Street andPiccadilly Circus,New Era London,dubbed "New Era: LDN," opened in summer 2007 at 72-74 BrewerStreet. New Era: LDN features the broadest and most exclusive selection of New Era headwear in the world.

“NEW ERA” BEGINS IN TORONTO

ON SEPTEMBER 29, TORONTO BLUE JAYS pitchers Dustin McGowan and ShaunMarcum took the mound at New Era’s

flagship store in Toronto. Accompanied by ACE,the Blue Jays mascot, the trio signed auto-graphs and entertained young fans by takingpictures and running around the store. Strate-gically located on Queen Street, in the heart ofToronto’s trendy shopping boutique area, NewEra’s store has been able to offer both fans andfashionistas alike a wide array of caps, from thetraditional on-field team model to countlesshigh-style 5950 editions. Since its store open-ing on August 3, 2007, New Era has opened itsdoors to a “new era” of cap-shopping that willnever go out of style!

4

DOMINICAN “ESTRELLAS”SHINE WITHGRUPORAMOS

C lubhousein Ch ina

FLORIDAMARLINSMiguel CabreraHanley RamirezDan Uggla Josh WillinghamDontrelle Willis

KANSAS CITY ROYALSBrian Bannister Joey Gathright Mark Grudzielanek Gil Meche Mark Teahan

LOS ANGELESDODGERSChad BillingsleyDerek LoweRussell MartinBrad PennyTakashi Saito

HOUSTONASTROSLance BerkmanCraig BiggioCarlos LeeRoy OswaltHunter Pence

LOS ANGELESANGELS OF ANAHEIMKelvim EscobarChone FigginsVladimir GuerreroJohn LackeyFrancisco Rodriguez

4

2007 STAR PLAYERS

SPONSORSHIP & BROADCASTINGLICENSING

NEW EDITION SENDS DUTCHFANS TO YANKEE STADIUM

MLBI HAS NAMED CLAIRE FONTAINE A NEW LICENSEE FOR ARANGEof “Back to School” accessories in France in 2008. The collection will in-clude essential items such as ring binders, notebooks and diaries.

MLBI has also signed Masterdis as a new licensee for a range of jewelryfeaturing the MLB and MLB Club logos which will launch in Germany in 2008.

NEW ERA ESTABLISHESLONDON PRESENCE

NEW LICENSEES IN EUROPE: MASTERDIS AND CLAIRE FONTAINE

New Era: LDN provides one-stopshopping for all of London’sheadwear needs!

5

AUSSIES GATHER TOWATCH WORLD SERIESWITH FOX

PEPSI SHOWS MAJORLEAGUE EXCITEMENT!

BUDWEISER IN PANAMA

PEPSI’S “METAL PEPSI” CAMPAIGN IN LATIN AMERICAbuilt major excitement for the 2007 season - featur-ing three Latin superstars (Miguel Tejada of the

Baltimore Orioles, Carlos Delgado of the New York Mets andBobby Abreu of the New York Yankees), the players appearedon Pepsi products and in commercialsin the Dominican Republic, PuertoRico and Venezuela.Pepsi also ran a sweepstakes

promotion in Kentucky FriedChicken outlets throughoutPanama and Nicaragua: fans hadthe chance to win a World SeriesDream Prize consisting of a two-night hotel stay and two tickets tothe World Series.

ALONG WITH CREDOMATIC BANK, MasterCard once again gave six fansin Panama the opportunity to win an

all-expense paid trip to the 2007 WorldSeries. Each time Credomatic MasterCard-holders used their cards from July 13ththrough October 4th, they were entered towin the trip of a lifetime!

The Australian baseball faithfulgathered to celebrate this Octo-ber with “World Series Watch Par-ties” in Sydney, Brisbane andMelbourne. Along with the ex-citement of the Fall Classic, theparties welcomed home therecord-breaking seven Australianswho were on Major League ros-ters in 2007: Grant Balfour (TampaBay Rays), Travis Blackley (SanFrancisco Giants), Justin Huber(Kansas City Royals), Peter Moy-lan (Atlanta Braves), Ryan Row-land-Smith (Seattle Mariners),Chris Snelling (Oakland Athlet-ics) and Rich Thompson (Los An-geles Angels of Anaheim).

OVER-THE-AIR GAMESRETURN TO PUERTO RICO

Major League Baseball and OPGCommunications, Inc. havebrought MLB regular seasonand postseason games back toover-the-air television in PuertoRico by partnering with TeleIsla.TeleIsla has over 95% distribu-tion across Puerto Rico on over-the-air television and is carriedon all local cable systems.Through this partnership, PuertoRicans can now cheer on theircountrymen and all of their fa-vorite players in the big leagues!

FANS FEEL THE EXCITEMENT OF THEWORLD SERIES WITH PRESIDENTE

ASAHI HIGHLIGHTS 2007 SEASON

MASTERCARDTAKES FANS TOTHE FALL CLASSIC

PRESIDENTE, THEofficial beer of MajorLeague Baseball in

the Dominican Republic, sentlucky fans on an all-expensepaid trip to Games Three andFour of the 2007 World Se-ries. Fans had the opportu-nity to participate in thesweepstakes when they pur-chased a four- or six-pack ofPresidente beer at partici-pating supermarkets.

FOLLOWING A NATION-WIDE, SEASON-LONGadvertising campaign, Asahi Breweries broughtan exciting premium program across Japan

this August, with an exclusive DVD highlighting the 2007seasons of Hideki Matsui and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Com-

piled in conjunction withMLB Productions, morethan 900,000 copies of theDVD were distributed atover 42,000 conveniencestores. Asahi also attachedWorld Series logo sportstowels to 20,000 six-packsin support of the 2007 MLBpostseason.

BUDWEISER, THE OFFICIAL BEER OF MAJOR LEAGUEBaseball in Panama, was featured on billboards through-out Panama City beginning October 7th to highlight the

2007 postseason. Anheuser-Busch supported their campaignwith print, radio and on-premise activation.

MILWAUKEE BREWERSRyan Braun Prince Fielder Bill HallJ.J. Hardy Ben Sheets

NEW YORKMETSMoises AlouCarlos BeltranJohn MaineJose ReyesDavid Wright

OAKLANDATHLETICSJoe Blanton Jack CustMark EllisDan HarenNick Swisher

MINNESOTATWINSMichael CuddyerJoe Mauer Justin MorneauJoe NathanJohan Santana

NEW YORKYANKEESDerek JeterHideki Matsui Mariano Rivera Alex RodriguezChien-Ming Wang

5

2007 STAR PLAYERS

SPONSORSHIP & BROADCASTING

THE THIRD ANNUAL MLB INTERNATIONAL EuropeanBaseballAcademy saw a record nineAcademy participants sign professional con-

tracts with six different MLB organizations. The nineplayers, among the region’s best baseball talent, hail

from five countries across Europe, including three play-ers from Germany and the Netherlands and one eachfrom Denmark, France and Italy. To date, 20 MLBI Eu-ropean Baseball Academy graduates have signed pro-fessional contracts with MLB Clubs.

PHILADELPHIAPHILLIES Cole HamelsRyan HowardBrett MyersJimmy RollinsChase Utley

ST. LOUISCARDINALS Chris Duncan Jim EdmondsJason IsringhausenAlbert Pujols Adam Wainwright

SAN FRANCISCOGIANTS Barry Bonds Matt Cain Noah Lowry Omar VizquelRandy Winn

PITTSBURGHPIRATES Matt CappsTom GorzelannyAdam LaRocheXavier NadyFreddy Sanchez

SAN DIEGOPADRES Brian GilesAdrian GonzalezKhalil GreeneTrevor HoffmanJake Peavy

2007 STAR PLAYERS

As the eighth annual MLBI Aus-tralian Academy came to a closein 2007, the program achieved ahistoric first: one of its graduates,Rich Thompson, debuted in theMajor Leagues. On September1st, the 23-year old right-handedpitcher, a member of the Acad-emy class of 2001, worked one in-ning in relief for the LA Angels ofAnaheim, allowing one hit, noruns and striking out two.Australia’s sole representative

in the 2007 XM All-Star Futuresgame, Thompson attended thevery first Academy in 2001 as a17-year-old and signed with Ana-heim following his strong per-formance throughout the six-weekcamp. Upon his debut with theAngels, Thompson became the25th Australian, and the first MLBIAcademy graduate, to play in thebig leagues.As of Opening Day 2007, 71 Aus-

tralian Academy alumni – 75% ofall current Australian and NewZealander players – were playingwith Major League organizations.A record-high seven Australiansplayed with MLB Clubs during the2007 season.

THIS SEPTEMBER,MLBI CHALLENGED YOUNG BASEBALL FANS IN TOKYO TOtest their skills in the Pitch, Hit & Run competition. The youth grassroots program,which attracts more than 600,000 participants each year in the United States, al-

lows fans to showcase their pitching, hitting and running abilities against other partic-ipants in four different age groups: 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-14 years olds. The Tokyocompetition marked the first time Pitch, Hit & Run reached fans in Asia.With support from Mizuno and SPORTS AUTHORITY, the MLB Pitch, Hit & Run

competition at Ohta Stadium was heavily-attended and fun for all. Winners from eachof the four age groups were awarded a Mizuno commemorative gold baseball tro-phy, an item from the Ichiro Suzuki replica baseball equipment line and SPORTS AU-THORITY gift certificates. In addition, former Japanese MLB player ShigetoshiHasegawa and bat craftsman Isokazu Kubota appeared for demonstrations.

6

NINE PLAYERS SIGN OUT OF 2007 EUROPEAN ACADEMY

ACADEMY FIRST: AUSSIEMAKES “THE SHOW”

Player Position Academy Year(s) Country Club

Donald Lutz Outfield 2006, ’07 Germany Cincinnati Reds Frédéric Hanvi Catcher 2006, ’07 France Minnesota Twins Jennel Hudson Pitcher 2007 Germany Boston Red Sox Ludwig Glaser Third Base 2006, ’07 Germany Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Dwayne Kemp Shortstop 2006, ’07 Netherlands Chicago Cubs Andrea Lucati Pitcher 2006, ’07 Italy Houston Astros Frederik Terkelsen Outfield 2006, ’07 Denmark Los Angeles Angels of AnaheimTjerk Hogervorst Outfield 2007 Netherlands New York MetsJan Baldee Infielder 2006, ’07 Netherlands Houston Astros

2007 EUROPEAN BASEBALL ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS SIGNED BY MLB ORGANIZATIONS

GAME DEVELOPMENTGAME DEVELOPMENT

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PITCH, HIT &RUNCOMES TO JAPANThe four winners of the TokyoPitch, Hit & Run competitionreceived unique prizes like thegold baseball trophy picturedhere, created by Mizuno.

Australian RichThompson makeshis MLB debutwith the LA Angelsof Anaheim.

SEATTLEMARINERS Adrian BeltreFelix HernandezRaul Ibanez J.J. Putz Ichiro Suzuki

WASHINGTONNATIONALS Ronnie BelliardChad CorderoAustin KearnsDmitri Young Ryan Zimmerman

TAMPA BAYRAYS Carl CrawfordAkinori IwamuraScott KazmirCarlos PenaB.J. Upton

TORONTOBLUE JAYS A.J. Burnett Roy HalladayAlex RiosMatt Stairs Frank Thomas

2007 STAR PLAYERS

DEVELOPING TALENT IN EUROPE AND AFRICA

7

FOLLOWING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE MLBIEuropean Baseball Academy, MLBI has teamedup with national baseball federations in Europe

and Africa to develop a network of year-round train-ing academies for the regions’ top young talent.MLBI is working with national baseball academies inseven European and African nations - Italy, Germany,France, the Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa andthe United Kingdom. MLBI’s involvement includes pro-viding coaching expertise, MLB player visits (see above),equipment and training resources to each program.

These academies provideregular training throughoutthe year to 250 of Europe andAfrica’s best 13-to-19-year-old players. Of these players,eight signed professional con-tracts with MLB organizations

in 2007 and 23 went on to represent their countries atthe 2007 MLBI European Baseball Academy. Martin Brunner, head coach of the Regensburg

Academy (Germany), which has produced three pro-fessional players in the past year, said of MLBI’s sup-port: “Our players are all amateurs, having to managedemanding school or university schedules. Yet theysee the difference the Academy brings to them asbaseball players and have committed the time to im-proving, even through the winter months. And theyknow they have MLB to thank for that.”

In 2007, MLB International formedan exciting new partnership withthe charitable organization, PitchIn For Baseball (PIFB). Based inPhiladelphia, PA, PIFB sharesMLBI’s commitment to promotingand enhancing the growth of base-ball around the world by providingthe necessary equipment, whichcan prove challenging to obtain atthe grassroots level. MLBI and PIFBpartnered on donations to 14 dif-ferent countries in 2007. Since theinception of the Major League Base-ball International Equipment Do-nation Program in 2003, MLBI hasdistributed baseball equipment toorganizations in more than 30 coun-tries worldwide, including Ameri-can Samoa, Argentina, Australia,Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile,China, Costa Rica, Fiji, Ghana,Guatemala, India, Ireland, Israel,Kenya, Malta, Mali, Mexico, Mozam-bique, New Caledonia, New Zealand,Nicaragua, Northern Mariana Is-lands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Ro-mania, Russia, St. Martin, Tunisia,Uganda and Vietnam. For more in-formation on this program, pleasecontact Erin Sloneker aterin.sloneker@mlb.com.

MLBI PARTNERS WITHPITCH IN FOR BASEBALL

Detroit Tiger Curtis Grandersonvisited the elite players of theAmsterdam Academy inNovember 2006 as part of hisAmbassador Tour of Europe.Granderson will be an MLBAmbassador once again thisDecember, traveling to SouthAfrica to attend the All-AfricaGames and host clinics for top-rated South African players.

MLBI PARTNERED WITHNew Era, Majestic Ath-letic and Burger King

to run one of the largest toursever of the MLB Roadshow inGermany. Creating baseball“mini-festivals” at popular lo-cations such as Berlin’s Pots-damer Platz, the Roadshowvisited 20 events in 17 major Ger-man cities. Over 14,000 people participated ingames at these events, which were supported bymembers of Germany’s national baseball team.In England, the MLB Roadshow made a two-

week stop at the 21st World Scout Jamboree fromJuly 27 to August 8. Partnering with Boy Scouts

of America, MLB set up a popular baseball zonethat included batting, pitching and ballpark fa-vorites such as popcorn and “Take Me Out to theBallgame.” Over 40,000 visitors attended the Jam-boree at Hylands Park in Chelmsford, making itone of the largest scouting events in history.

GAME DEVELOPMENT

MLB ROADSHOWHITS EUROPE

TEXAS RANGERS Ian Kinsler Kevin Millwood Jarrod SaltalamacchiaSammy Sosa Michael Young

AS PART OF THE ONGOING PREPARATIONS FOR THE 2009World Baseball Classic, World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI)has identified 12 candidates for consideration in the final phase

of its host venue selection process (for a full list, see below). The lo-cations include eight in the United States and four international sites,in Canada, Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The quality and depth ofpotential hosts for 2009 are a strong reflection of the tournament’sraised global profile following the success of the inauguralWorldBase-ball Classic in 2006. The 16-team competition will once again fea-ture two rounds of pool play followed by a thrilling ChampionshipWeekend.WBCI expects to name the official host venues in early 2008.

MORE THAN 79.5 MILLION FANS ATTENDEDgames at MLB ballparks during the 2007 sea-son, shattering the previous attendance record

for the fourth year in a row. The season was filled withthrilling firsts and historic accomplishments for thosefans to see, from Opening Day to an exciting postsea-son play-in game. International stars played a leadingrole in making this season so memorable,from rookieslike Jair Jurrjens (the first MLB pitcher from Curacao)to leaders like Ichiro Suzuki of Japan (All-Star GameMVP) and Puerto RicanMike Lowell (World Series MVP).Below are some of the remarkable milestones in one ofthe greatest MLB seasons in recent decades.

STADIUM LOCATIONAT&T Park San Francisco, CABallpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Orlando, FLChase Field Phoenix, CADodger Stadium Los Angeles, CADolphin Stadium Miami, FLMinute Maid Park Houston, TXPETCO Park San Diego, CAScottsdale Stadium Scottsdale, AZForo Sol Stadium Mexico City, MexicoHiram Bithorn Stadium San Juan, Puerto RicoRogers Centre Toronto, CanadaTokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan

PLAYER MLB CLUB RECORD

Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants All-Time Home Run Leader (762)Trevor Hoffman San Diego Padres All-Time Saves Leader (482)Craig Biggio Houston Astros 3,000 HitsPedro Martinez New York Mets 3,000 StrikeoutsSammy Sosa Texas Rangers 600 Home RunsAlex Rodriguez New York Yankees 500 Home RunsFrank Thomas Toronto Blue Jays 500 Home RunsJim Thome Chicago White Sox 500 Home RunsTom Glavine New York Mets 300 Wins

Venue Candidates Line Up for 2009 World Baseball Classic

79.5 MILLION ATTEND RECORD-BREAKING SEASON

MLB INTERNATIONALSTAFF DIRECTORY

CENTRAL OFFICE (NEW YORK)(+1) 212-931-7500Paul Archey, Senior Vice President,International Business Operations

BROADCAST OPERATIONSRussell Gabay, Vice President &Executive ProducerTom Guidice, Senior Manager,Broadcasting

LICENSING & SPONSORSHIPShawn Lawson-Cummings,Vice President, InternationalLicensing & SponsorshipDeidra Varona, Director,International LicensingJacquelyn Walsh, Director,International MarketingJosephine Fuzesi, Senior Manager,International LicensingWhitney Sanders, Senior Coordinator,International LicensingDebora Lehrer, Coordinator,International Licensing & Sponsorship

MARKET DEVELOPMENTDominick Balsamo, Director,Market Development & CommunicationsMike McClellan, Program Manager,Game DevelopmentMike Cafaro, Sr. Coordinator,Event MarketingErin Sloneker, Coordinator,Market Development & Communications

TV & SPONSORSHIP SALESVictor Coto,Manager, Latin AmericanSales & MarketingSonia Gomez, Account Executive,Int’l Broadcasting

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC, INC.James Pearce, Tournament DirectorJane Kim,Manager, Event OperationsAndres Betancur, Coordinator,Event OperationsJB Hacking, Coordinator,Event Operations

REGIONAL OFFICESAUSTRALIA & OCEANIA (Sydney)(+61) 2-9238- 2292Tom Nicholson, DirectorElizabeth Cage, Consultant, Media& CommunicationsWarren King, Consultant,Events & Market Development

CHINA (Beijing)(+86) 10-8523-3020Michael Marone,ManagerRick Dell, Director, Game Development

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA(London)(+44) 207-453-7000Clive Russell, DirectorJason Holowaty,Manager, GameDevelopmentWendy Yates, Office Manager

JAPAN & ASIA (Tokyo)(+81) 3-5425-6050Jim Small,Managing Director& Vice President, AsiaDarrick Thomas,Marketing ManagerHiroko Kato, Account ExecutiveSami Kawakami, Account Executive

MLB INTERNATIONAL

GET

TYIM

AGES

Craig Biggio and the Houston Astros celebrated his3,000 career hit on June 28, 2007 at Minute Maid Park.

2006 Final in San Diego