David Freese of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals was the only multiple award winner, as he earned Postseason MVP and top Postseason Moment for his dramatic game-tying, ninth-inning triple in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.

In addition to the Cardinals, four other Clubs claimed multiple GIBBY winners, including the Arizona Diamondbacks (Kirk Gibson, Manager of the Year; Ian Kennedy, Breakout Player of the Year); Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander, Starting Pitcher of the Year; Jose Valverde, Closer of the Year); New York Yankees (David Robertson, Setup Man of the Year; Robinson Cano, Wow Factor of the Year; Derek Jeter, Performance of the Year); and Tampa Bay Rays (Dan Johnson, Moment of the Year; Evan Longoria, Walk-Off of the Year).

This year’s winners of the GIBBY Awards – the ultimate trophies honoring the best players and must-see moments from the 2011 Major League Baseball season – were determined through a comprehensive six-week voting process (Oct. 29-Dec. 4) that included national and local media members, Major League Club front office personnel, former Major League players and online fan balloting at MLB.com. Over the past four seasons, fans have cast more than 40 million online votes for the 19 categories, none of which were restricted to individual League affiliation. A complete list of 2011 winners and highlights can be found at MLB.com/GIBBYs.

QUOTES FROM THE 2011 GIBBY AWARDS SHOW

GIBSON – “I’d like to thank all the fans and everybody who voted for me for Manager of the Year. It’s an exceptional honor for me, being a rookie manager. … It’s exemplary of why we all get up and play the game hard with dedication, and do it the right way every day.”

KENNEDY – “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me for this award. It’s an honor. Every one of those guys is deserving and had great years. I’d like to thank my teammates for putting me in this position to win this award.”

JOHN MOZELIAK (Executive of the Year) – “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me on this award. It’s a great honor, and I take a lot of pride in being recognized in this. … There are so many great people who work in our front office who deserve credit for this award. I’m honored and humbled by this. I also want to recognize our ownership that gives us so much support throughout the year.”

BEN REVERE (Play of the Year) – “I just want to say thank you to the fans who voted for me, to the Minnesota Twins faithful, and to MLB.com and MLB Network for allowing me to accept this honor.”

ROBERTSON – “This is a huge honor. This is one of those things I didn’t expect to win.”

MLB Network Radio channel broadcasts live from Chase Field and MLB All-Star FanFest in Phoenix July 9-12

Cal Ripken Jr. and Bill Ripken to host “Ripken Baseball” live in front of fans at MLB All-Star FanFest on July 11

Sirius XM Radio announced that it will offer baseball fans comprehensive coverage of 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Week in Phoenix, AZ, July 9-12.

SiriusXM will carry the 82nd All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 12 (8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT), and the State Farm Home Run Derby on Monday, July 11 (8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT), live from Chase Field on XM channel 176.

SiriusXM will also offer the exclusive radio broadcast of the XM All-Star Futures Game, featuring the top minor league prospects from the U.S. and abroad, on Sunday, July 10.  Pre-game coverage starts at 5:30 pm ET on XM channel 89.  SiriusXM’s Mike Ferrin will be the play-by-play voice for the Futures Game broadcast and former Major League GM and daily SiriusXM host Jim Duquette will be the analyst.  SiriusXM’s Grant Paulsen and Baseball America’s John Manuel will provide reports from on the field and in the dugouts.  Paulsen will host a special edition of his weekly show, Minors & Majors, live from the ballpark (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT) leading into the XM All-Star Futures pre-game.

On Monday and Tuesday, SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio – channel 89 on XM and channel 209 on Sirius Premier (formerly known as “The Best of XM”) – will offer listeners extensive pre- and post-game coverage of both the State Farm Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game that will feature one-on-one interviews with current and former All-Stars, managers, coaches and other personalities from around the game.

Former All-Star pitcher Rob Dibble, former GM Jim Bowden and Casey Stern will team up for the State Farm Home Run Derby pre-game coverage starting at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT as well as the post-Derby recap.  On Tuesday, Dibble, former GM Jim Duquette and Stern will host the All-Star pre-game coverage live from Chase Field starting at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT.  Following the game, Dibble and Duquette will host the post-game show with Stern and Ferrin on the field and in the clubhouse talking one-on-one with the All-Stars.

Additionally, each day leading up to the All-Star Game, MLB Network Radio hosts will broadcast live from the MLB All-Star FanFest.  Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and Bill Ripken will host their exclusive show, Ripken Baseball, live in front of fans on Monday, July 11 (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT).  Former pitcher Jeff Nelson, Jim Bowden, Jim Duquette, Casey Stern, Mike Ferrin and Grant Paulsen will also host live from the SiriusXM broadcast stage at the Phoenix Convention Center.

The following programs will originate from MLB All-Star FanFest and air on MLB Network Radio (channel 89 on XM; channel 209 on Sirius Premier):

Other hosts from across the SiriusXM programming spectrum will also broadcast from the All-Star festivities in Phoenix.

On Sunday, July 10 (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT), Monday, July 11 (6:00 pm ET/3:00 pm PT) and Tuesday, July 12 (11:00 am ET/8:00 am PT), SiriusXM’s Steve Covino and Rich Davis will host their daily show from MLB All-Star FanFest, talking with special guests and fans and trying out FanFest’s interactive exhibits live on air.  Covino & Rich airs daily on SiriusXM Stars Too, SiriusXM’s talk radio channel for guys (channel 104).

SiriusXM airs every game from all 30 Major League Baseball teams live on XM channels 176 to 189, with some on XM channel 89, and in Spanish on XM channel 175.  A schedule of MLB games on XM can be found at www.siriusxm.com/mlb.

MLB Network Radio, the only radio channel dedicated to covering Major League Baseball seven days a week, 365 days a year, is available to both XM and Sirius subscribers and features a daily lineup of call-in talk shows hosted by Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Ripken, Jim Bowden, Rob Dibble, Jim Duquette, Kevin Kennedy, Jeff Nelson, Rico Petrocelli, and others.  MLB Network Radio also airs MLB Network television programming including MLB Tonight, the network’s live nightly studio show featuring live game look-ins and analysis by Harold Reynolds, Al Leiter, Mitch Williams, Bill Ripken, Dan Plesac and others.

Professional baseball greats Robin Yount, Mike Schmidt, Rod Carew, Jack Clark and Jack Morris will enhance the fan experience at the NCAA Men’s College World Series this Father’s Day weekend, thanks to AT&T*.  On Saturday, legendary third baseman and 1970 College World Series participant  with Ohio University Mike Schmidt will Facebook chat live with AT&T fans from the College World Series® from  9 – 9:30 a.m. CT. Go to Facebook.com/ATT, “like” AT&T and post the questions you’d like Mike to answer! On Sunday, iconic slugger Jack Clark will play catch at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha with a child whose father is deployed for the 3rd Annual Father’s Day Toss.

“We are honored to provide this once-in-a-lifetime experience to the child of a local military family,” said Jason Simpson, AVP, AT&T Corporate Sponsorships. “AT&T has a long history of supporting our troops and the annual Father’s Day Toss is a fun way to show our appreciation to our military.”

In addition to playing catch with Clark, the child’s family, selected by Offutt Air Force Base, will be provided with commemorative items, tickets to the 2011 NCAA Men’s College World Series and a VIP tour of TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.

Also in honor of Father’s Day, AT&T will provide members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands and their families, volunteers and staff with tickets, prizes and exclusive access during opening weekend. The group will receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, including the locker rooms and press box, and exclusive access to the TD Ameritrade Park Omaha outfield for the 3rd Annual Father’s Day Toss on Sunday, June 19th with Jack Clark.

The additional baseball greats AT&T brings to the NCAA Men’s College World Series will sign autographs at AT&T stores and at the AT&T Fan Zone within the College World Series Fan Fest presented by Capital One at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on Friday, June 17, Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19. Fan Fest is free and open to the public Friday, June 17 from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and Monday (June 18 – June 20) from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Friday, June 17

Robin Yount

• 2-3 p.m. AT&T Fan Zone, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
• 4-5 p.m. AT&T Store, 3575 L Street, Omaha, Neb.

Mike Schmidt

• 6-7 p.m.  AT&T Fan Zone, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha

Saturday, June 18

Mike Schmidt

• 9 – 9:30 a.m. LIVE chat with Mike Schmidt on Facebook.com/ATT
• 10-11 a.m. AT&T Store, Village Pointe, Omaha, Neb.

Rod Carew

• 1-2 p.m. AT&T Store, 7820 Dodge St., Omaha, Neb.
• 4:30.-5:30 p.m.  AT&T Fan Zone, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha

Sunday, June 19

Jack Clark

• 9 a.m. 3rd Annual Father’s Day Toss, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
• 11:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. AT&T Fan Zone, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha

Jack Morris

• 3:30-4:30 p.m.  AT&T Fan Zone, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha

While at the AT&T Fan Zone area, fans can take a commemorative photo, provide their point of view as a commentator for historic NCAA® Men’s College World Series® in a video booth and test their arm with a pitching game. Visitors can also check out the latest and greatest AT&T products and services, including AT&T Mobile Games, AT&T U-verse Live TV and the Motorola ATRIX 4G.

To keep up with all the activity in Omaha, AT&T is providing text alerts** – text CWS to 88222 to sign up. Participants will be notified of final game scores, team advancement updates, team practice times and locations and changes in game schedules and will also be among the first to know about special events, appearances, opportunities to win tickets and prizes, ticket availability and more!

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

** Standard text messaging rates apply.

In its 26th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, announced Dylan Bundy of Owasso High (Owasso, Okla.) as its 2010-11 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year.  Bundy was surprised with the news during a youth baseball clinic by former All-Star Third Baseman Aaron Boone.

“It felt great to surprise Dylan with the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award and welcome him into one of the most prestigious legacy programs in high school sports,” said Boone.  ”Gatorade has been on the sidelines fueling athletic performance for years, so to be recognized by a brand that understands the game and truly helps athletes perform is a huge honor for these kids.”

As the recipient of the 231st Gatorade National Player of the Year trophy to be awarded since 1985, Bundy becomes only the second player from the state of Oklahoma to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year honors. The other was A.J. Hinch (Midwest City, Okla.) in 1991-92, a catcher who went on to play seven years in the MLB and now serves as Vice President of Professional Scouting for the San Diego Padres.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Bundy as the nation’s best high school baseball player.  A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Bundy from more than 472,644 baseball players nationwide. Bundy is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior right-handed pitcher and third baseman posted an 11-0 record on the mound with a 0.20 ERA, 158 strikeouts and just five walks in 71 innings-pitched this past season, leading the Rams (37-2) to the Class 6A state final.  Now a three-time Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of the Year, Bundy also batted .467 with 11 home runs, 54 RBIs and 50 runs scored this spring.  He tossed eight complete-game shutouts, including one no-hitter, registered a save and allowed only two earned runs to score in 2011.  He finished his senior season with a 0.35 WHIP and opposing hitters managed just a 0.81 batting average against him.  Bundy averaged 15.5 strikeouts per seven innings this year en route to a 31.6-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Bundy is the nation’s only three-time winner of Gatorade State Baseball Player of the Year honors in the award’s 26-year history.  He was an Aflac and Under Armour All-American in 2010 and a Rawlings First Team All-American in 2011. Bundy has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of Texas this fall, but is projected as an early first-round selection in this month’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

“Bundy established himself as the best high school pitcher in this draft early in the spring and hasn’t let up at all, pushing himself into top-5 pick consideration,” said Keith Law, Senior Baseball Writer for ESPN.com. “Bundy has stuff, command, and aggressiveness with a big-league arsenal that includes a fastball up to 99 and an outstanding cutter. He throws strikes and attacks hitters on both sides of the plate. With great makeup, stuff, and track record, Bundy shouldn’t get out of the top 10 picks.”

Bundy has maintained a 3.72 GPA in the classroom.  He has volunteered locally on behalf of both First United Methodist Church and Owasso Community Resources holiday service missions since 2009, participating in an annual drive that distributes 3,000 holiday turkeys.  He has also donated his time as a baseball clinic instructor at Sperry and Owasso high schools since 2008.  Bundy recently initiated a grassroots effort for Rams athletes to provide additional humanitarian relief to victims of the Joplin, Mo. tornadoes.

“Without question, Dylan is deserving of recognition as the nation’s best high school baseball player based on his statistics on the field and the impact his accomplishments have had on Owasso High’s success,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jennifer Storms.  ”But he is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young athletes of what a leader and a student-athlete should be.  He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

“We are gratified fans responded so favorably to the material changes we made this off-season across our web sites, mobile applications and live game products,” said Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content, MLB.com. “As we do every season, we will continue to develop and deploy additional technology and content offerings to further daily fan engagement with the game.”

Among the traffic records established at MLB.com during the first days of the season (March 31 – April 19) include:

• Fans watched 7 million video streams per day during the season’s opening 20 days, including 1 million live video streams per day.

• MLB.com averaged 11.5 million visitors per day, representing an increase of 17 percent from 2010 (9.8 million), highlighted by its single-highest visited day ever in the month of April with 13 million visitors on Friday, April 8.

• MLB.com averaged 122 million page views per day, 48% higher than the comparable 2010 average, and reached 2 billion page views earlier than ever before.

• MLB.com’s mobile sites have totaled 992 million page views across all Internet-enabled devices, a 138% increase from the 2010 season’s first 20 days.

• At Bat 11, the #1 selling suite of mobile applications available on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android and BlackBerry, has been accessed 35 million times since Opening Day, a daily average of 1.75 million accesses and a 115 percent increase over the 2010 comparable time period.

Washington Nationals’ left fielder Michael Morse has earned the top spot on Brand Affinity Technology’s monthly list of Rising Sports Stars.  This special MLB-only edition of the list identifies baseball players with the most significant leaps in popularity during the preseason – athletes poised for greatness as the season starts.  Morse turned heads with nine home runs during spring training, making him one of the most watched players as the regular season begins.  His popularity increased a whopping 92% over the preseason, putting him at the top of the list of stars to watch in the month of April.

This month’s Rising Stars list is the youngest to date, with none of the athletes more than 25 years old.  The top three spots on the list were rounded out by up-and-coming young pitchers Brett Anderson of the Oakland Athletics and Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays. The full list and additional details are available at: www.brandaffinity.net/RisingStars/april2011.

Rising Sports Stars is distributed by Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT), a company that calculates daily consumer affinity based on a proprietary combination of media exposure, performance, awards, popularity, engagement, and fan base, among other indicators, for more than 45,000 athletes and celebrities.  The list identifies sports stars with the greatest leaps in popularity, on a percentage basis.  A meteoric rise may indicate a standout on-the-field performance, off-the-field achievement, or emergence from utility player to celebrity.

Washington, DC, whose hometown Nationals have finished in last place in all but one year since relocating from Montreal in 2005, is the unhappiest pro baseball city, according to analysis by Avvo, which offers free ratings and profiles for 90 percent of licensed doctors and lawyers in the U.S. Interestingly enough, Baltimore, located about 40 miles north of the nation’s capital and home to the Orioles, who last won a World Series in 1983, is the third most depressed baseball city, with Oakland (Athletics) sandwiched between.

Batting cleanup in the lineup of brokenhearted baseball cities is Seattle, then Houston, San Diego, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago (Cubs fans), Pittsburgh, Denver, Los Angeles, New York (Mets fans), Tampa, Dallas, Kansas City, Detroit and Milwaukee.

“Baseball fans are incredibly passionate about their teams so it’s no surprise they suffer from bouts of depression and disappointment after a big loss or after the seemingly endless succession of losing seasons,” said Mark Britton, founder and CEO of Avvo.

Below is a list of the most depressed baseball cities (in order):

1. Washington, DC
2. Oakland
3. Baltimore
4. Seattle
5. Houston
6. San Diego
7. Cleveland
8. Cincinnati
9. Chicago (Cubs)
10. Pittsburgh
11. Denver
12. Los Angeles
13. New York (Mets)
14. Tampa
15. Dallas
16. Kansas City
17. Detroit
18. Milwaukee

Methodology: Avvo reviewed data in cities that are home to 18 MLB teams that haven’t won a World Series in the past 20 years, and examined the teams’ on-field performance. In the nine weighted categories, cities and teams were ranked first to last. Statistics used to establish the rankings included: psychiatrists and divorce lawyers per capita (Avvo), unemployment rate (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), drinking rate, suicide rate and mentally unhealthy days reported among adults (CDC), and medical and legal-related questions (Avvo), as well as number of days over the past three seasons each team held first place and days eliminated from first place contention (Baseball-Reference.com).

#1 Grossing App returns with first live mobile streaming for Spring Training games in February

MLB.com At Bat, the top-selling, award-winning suite of mobile applications developed by MLB Advanced Media, is back for the 2011 season today and earlier than ever before will deliver a special free preview of MLB.TV live streaming video for At Bat 11 on Apple devices starting Saturday, February 26. At Bat 11, which is available now for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android and BlackBerry, also introduces a new favorite Club home screen customization functionality for select devices.

With Opening Day just five weeks away, At Bat 11 will deliver additional updates prior to the regular season, including brand new features, offers and functionalities.

Spring Training 2011

MLB.com At Bat 11 across each of these platforms offers the most comprehensive coverage of Grapefruit and Cactus League action with access to live Spring Training games, including every available radio feed and in progress statistical data. Among the At Bat 11 features available for Spring Training are:

• Customize home screen to feature a designated favorite team (iPhone, iPod touch, Android only).
• Watch live streaming of about 150 available Spring Training games with a special mobile free preview of MLB.TV (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad only).
• Listen to available radio broadcasts of Spring Training games
• Follow league-wide scoreboards and batter-by-batter action for every Spring Training game
• Enhanced video library archive, searchable by player or team
• Breaking news, schedules and interactive rosters and players stats for every team
• Full-season schedule calendars

MLB.com At Bat 11 is available to subscribers for a one-time fee of $14.99 for the entire 2011 season.

“Fans have continued to demonstrate, in record numbers, their desire to consume live baseball in the most convenient ways possible,” said Noah Garden, Executive Vice President, Revenue, MLB.com. “We remain committed to expanding MLB.TV for our subscribers by leveraging emerging technological platforms and partnerships that deliver a rich experience.”

In 2011, fans will be able to follow every game wherever they are with MLB.TV support across a variety of mobile and connected platforms, including iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android devices through the top-selling MLB.com At Bat apps for each and Sony PS3 and other connected devices. Additional platform offerings for MLB.TV live streaming will be announced as they become available.

Along with portability, this year’s product offers subscribers a host of cutting-edge features in the award-winning MLB.TV media player, delivering a dynamic live viewing experience for every out-of-market regular season game. Those include:

• HD Quality Picture – Speed detection technology delivers live high definition video at the industry standard of 720p on any size monitor.
• Home and Away Feeds – Watch either the home or away teams’ broadcasts.
• Alternate Audio Options – Overlay the home or away teams’ radio broadcasts over the live video or use the “Park” option to include the ballpark’s natural sounds.
• Live Game DVR Functionality – Pause and rewind or fast-forward live games.
• Clickable Linescores – Go directly to any at-bat or half-inning of a game.
• Multi-Game Viewing Options – Watch up to four games simultaneously.
• Picture-in-Picture – Choose one game and track another or watch in-game highlights simultaneously in a secondary window.
• Live Game Highlights – Real-time highlights and player stats automatically load into the media player. With one click, the clip instantly launches in a picture-in-picture window.
• Player Tracker – Customize a list to feature entire fantasy rosters and receive on-deck notifications to watch live at-bat look-ins for each player.
• Spring Training – Watch about 150 live games from Florida and Arizona.

“The study proved a direct link between innings pitched in youth and adolescent baseball and serious pitching injuries. It highlights the need for parents and coaches to monitor the amount of pitching for the long-term success and health of these young athletes. We need to all work together to end the epidemic of youth sports injuries, and education through campaigns like STOP Sports Injuries is in excellent first step,” said lead researcher, Glenn S. Fleisig, Ph.D., of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama.

The study followed 481 pitchers for 10 years (1999-2008). All were healthy, active youth (aged 9 to 14 years) baseball pitchers at the beginning of the study. Every year each participant was asked whether he played baseball in the previous 12 months and if so what positions, how many innings pitched, what types of pitches he threw, for what teams (spring, summer, fall, winter), and if he participated in baseball showcases. Each player was also asked every year if he had an elbow or shoulder injury that led to surgery or retirement from baseball.

During the 10-year span, five percent of the pitchers suffered a serious injury resulting in surgery or retirement. Two of the boys in the study had surgery before their 13th birthday. Only 2.2 percent were still pitching by the 10th year of the study.

“It is a tough balancing act for adults to give their young athletes as much opportunity as possible to develop skills and strength without exposing them to increased risk of overuse injury. Based on this study, we recommend that pitchers in high school and younger pitch no more than 100 innings in competition in any calendar year. Some pitchers need to be limited even more, as no pitcher should continue to pitch when fatigued,” said Fleisig.

The study also looked at the trend of playing pitcher and catcher in the same game, which did appear to double or triple a player’s risk of injury but the trend was not statistically significant. The study also could not determine if starting curveballs before age 13 increases the risk of injury.