Perfect Game will host All-American Classic for high school baseball stars at Citizens Bank Park
Perfect Game will host its annual All-American Classic on Aug. 16 as the country’s best teenagers will play on the same field as July’s MLB All-Star Game.
The stars of Major League Baseball will take over Citizens Bank Park in July. A month later, it will be the kids’ turn.
Perfect Game — one of the country’s leading youth baseball companies — will host its annual All-American Classic on Aug. 16 as the country’s best teenagers will play on the same field as July’s MLB All-Star Game. The event is baseball’s version of the McDonald’s All-American Game with 60 players from across the country and past players include a cast of teens who later became All-Stars like Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Bobby Witt Jr., and Francisco Lindor.
“Baseball is America’s game and this is where America was built,” Perfect Game CEO Rob Ponger said. “This is where the next generation of baseball players are going to be built. The Perfect Game All-American Classic in Citizens Bank Park was intentional. Philadelphia is a true baseball city: passionate, knowledgeable, loud. We want these players to feel what it’s like to perform under real big-league pressure.”
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Perfect Game will take over Citizens Bank Park while the Phils are on the road as the company has events over three days: an All-Star Game on Aug. 14 for underclassmen, a home run derby on Aug. 15, and then the All-American Classic on Aug. 16. Former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who is part of Perfect Game’s ownership group, is the honorary chairman of the game. Rosters have not yet been announced.
“They just watched the All-Star Game in Philadelphia and now these kids are stepping onto the field,” Ponger said. “When these kids step on the field it’s like, ‘Wait a second. My dreams are becoming a reality. I just watched my heroes play in the All-Star Game and in five years, I might be in that All-Star Game.’ For me, we’re creating memories and moments for these kids. This is the dream. This is the opportunity.”
Phillies rookies Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter played in the All-American Classic as teens as did former Bonner-Prendergast star Kevin McGonigle, now a rookie with Detroit. A few years ago, they were kids moonlighting in a big-league park. They’re now big-leaguers. This summer, the next cast of future big-leaguers will get to do the same.
“In the World Baseball Classic Joseph Contreras got Aaron Judge to ground out with a 96 mph fastball,” Ponger said. “He just played a high school game last week, he’s pitching for Brazil, and here’s Aaron Judge, the best hitter in baseball. Well, Joseph last August was pitching in San Diego in the All-American Classic. He went from the PG All-American Game to high school to getting Aaron Judge to hit into a double play in one of the biggest stages.”