CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (Thursday, July 29, 2021)—Continuing to expand the efforts of leading the amateur baseball industry, Perfect Game (PG) is excited to announce Dell Rapids native Austin Henry has been selected for the 19th Annual Perfect Game All-American Classic to be held the afternoon of Sunday, August 22 at Petco Park in San Diego.
Far more than just a game, the event provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the players selected. While in San Diego, the players will participate in a series of baseball related activities. In the weeks leading up to the event, players will have the opportunity to participate in a fundraising effort to help support pediatric cancer patients at the Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Rady Children’s Hospital.
“The Perfect Game Cares Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is proud to partner with our 2021 All-American players to raise important funds for children undergoing pediatric cancer treatment at Rady Children’s Hospital,” said Jennifer Ford, Executive Director of the Perfect Game Cares Foundation. “Together, we can make a difference in the lives of these beautiful children.”
The Classic is returning to San Diego for the 12th time in 13 years, after Oklahoma City played host in 2020. Four players from the 2020 All-American Classic were among the top-10 players chosen in this year’s MLB amateur draft: Jackson Jobe – No. 3 overall by the Detroit Tigers; Marcelo Mayer at No. 4 by the Boston Red Sox; Jordan Lawlar at No. 6 by the Arizona Diamondbacks: and Benny Montgomery at No. 8 by the Colorado Rockies. Additionally, Jack Leiter, chosen second overall by the Texas Rangers, played in the 2018 Classic, while Kumar Rocker, selected 10th overall by the New York Mets, appeared in the 2017 event.
The rosters for the 2021 All-American Classic were chosen by a panel of talent evaluators assembled by Perfect Game, after being scouted and identified through a series of tournaments and events, including Perfect Game’s National Showcase, which took place in St. Petersburg, Fla., July 14-18.
When Major League Baseball began its 2021 Championship Season, there were 87 Perfect Game All-American players on the Opening Day rosters of 28 of the 30 Major League teams. The Atlanta Braves boasted the most Perfect Game All-Americans, with six, including reigning NL MVP Freddie Freeman.
Over the past 18 years, All-American Classic fundraising activities have generated more than $1.3 million for a variety of local causes, including $850,000 to Rady Children’s hospital and a record-breaking $119,819 during last year’s event in Oklahoma City to benefit the Toby Keith Foundation’s OK Kids Korral.
The Perfect Game All-American Classic will be streamed live on PerfectGame.TV. For more information, visit www.perfectgame.org. You can help by donating at www.perfectgamecares.org/event/PGAAC21. With help…Children can Rise! Rise out of illness! Rise out of poverty! Rise to a brighter future!
Perfect Game and its All-American Classic enjoys the support of its corporate partners TOP Chops Beef Jerky, Rawlings, Oakley, Yeti, New Balance, Diamond Kinetics, Augusta Sportswear, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Marc Pro, Next College Student Athlete and G-Form.
Media Contacts:
- Sydney Ford – sydney@perfectgame.org; 319-431-6694
- Daron Sutton – dsutton@perfectgame.org; 602-769-5712
About Perfect Game Cares
The Perfect Game Cares Foundation, Inc. began in 2003 as The PG Foundation, Inc., when PG Founder and President Jerry Ford decided that the success of Perfect Game created a platform to give back. Perfect Game has helped raise over $3 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Rady Children’s Hospital, Golisano Children’s Hospital, the Toby Keith Foundation’s OK Kids Korral, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, and the Boys and Girls Club. In 2018, the Foundation expanded its footprint to become the Perfect Game Cares Foundation with its largest initiative to date—empowering and supporting America’s underserved youth. Visit www.perfectgamecares.org for more information.
About Perfect Game
Perfect Game is the world’s largest elite youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, producing over 8,600+ events, 300,000+ games and showcases each year across the country. Perfect Game is dedicated to giving amateur players exposure to take their game to the next level, whether that be in college or in the professional ranks. Perfect Game also has launched its own broadcast channel, PerfectGame.TV, where it has already produced more than 10,000 hours of amateur baseball content. At Perfect Game events, players are performing with top-level competition in front of college recruiters and professional scouts from all over the country. Because of this, these events prove to be invaluable to the college coaches as well as Major League Baseball, as they can scout a large population of talented ballplayers in one location. To date, more than 1,500 players that have played in a Perfect Game event have also played in Major League Baseball. Since 2003, 12,776 Perfect Game alumni have been selected in the MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft. In the 2020 Draft, for example, 93 percent of all players selected had played in Perfect Game events, and all but one player selected on the Draft’s first day had previously attended Perfect Game events. And in the 2019 College World Series, every player on the roster of national champion Vanderbilt and all but one on the runner-up Michigan roster had played in a Perfect Game event.