Rawlings Platinum Glove Award® Winners Announced

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation JAH, unveiled the 2015 Rawlings Platinum Glove Award^® winners for both the American League™ and the National League™ recently at a ceremony in New York.

This year's Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners are first-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner Kevin Kiermaier, an American League center fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays™ and 8-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner Yadier Molina, a National League catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals™. This is also Molina's fourth Rawlings Platinum Glove.

In 2011, Rawlings unveiled the first-ever Rawlings Platinum Glove Award^™, a new fan-centric platform asking the game's avid fans who the best defensive baseball player is among that season's Rawlings Gold Glove Award^® winners. To determine the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners, fans can only select one player among the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners from each League.

Rawlings Platinum Glove Award voting – and its open and spirited debate on social media – proved what many believed to be true: fans have a very vocal opinion on who they believe is "the best of the best," and they understand the defensive nuances enough to back their favorite player's candidacy from the point-of-view of a scout and an advance analytics sabermetrician.

In 2013, Rawlings incorporated a SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) metric component called the SABR Defensive Index™ (SDI™) to the fan voting. The SDI's ability to accurately compare players from different positions helped establish the "science" behind the evolving Award platform.

"Once the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners are announced, the 'watercooler' debate as to who is the best defensive player rages with friends, co-workers and now across the social media landscape," said Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President of Marketing for St. Louis-based Rawlings. "Since major-league managers and coaches select the 18 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners, we wanted to create an outlet and an icon for the fans to voice their opinion as to who 'the best of the best' is on the diamond."

Kiermaier and Molina are among a field of only 6 players who have ever won a Rawlings Platinum Glove Award.

     

 

In addition to recognizing this year's Gold Glove winners at its ceremony in New York, Rawlings honored Hall of Famer Whitey Ford with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Joe Torre with the Rawlings Heart of Gold Award for work with his foundation, Safe At Home. Torre joins three of baseball's most beloved and iconic leaders, Tommy Lasorda, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Albert Pujols as Rawlings Heart of Gold Award winners. Ken Griffey, Jr., a 10-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award-winning center fielder, was inducted into the Rawlings Gold Glove Award Hall of Fame.

About the Rawlings Gold Glove Award^®

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award^® is a registered trademark owned by Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. The award is correctly identified as the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The name should not be shortened, abbreviated or otherwise misused.  Proper identification of this service mark using the registration symbol and the Rawlings name is important to protect the integrity of the program and perpetuate this worthy tradition.  For more information, please visit www.rawlings.com.

About Rawlings

Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. is an innovative manufacturer and marketer of sporting goods worldwide.  Founded in 1887, Rawlings is an authentic global sports brand, trusted by generations of athletes of all skill levels.  Rawlings' unparalleled quality and expert craftsmanship are the fundamental reasons why more professional athletes, national governing bodies and sports leagues choose Rawlings. Rawlings is the Official Ball Supplier and Batting Helmet of Major League Baseball^®, the official baseball of Minor League Baseball™ and the NCAA^®, and the approved baseball, basketball, football and softball of the National High School Federation^®. For more information, please visit www.rawlings.com or by phone at (314) 819-2800.

About Jarden Corporation

Jarden Corporation is a diversified, global consumer products company with a portfolio of over 120 trusted, authentic brands. Jarden's record of strong financial performance and organic growth is supported by a focused operating culture coupled with value enhancing acquisitions and shareholder focused capital allocation. Jarden operates in three primary business segments through a number of well recognized brands, including: Branded Consumables: Ball^®, Bee^®, Bernardin^®, Bicycle^®, Billy Boy^®, Crawford^®, Diamond^®, Envirocooler^®, Fiona^®, First Alert^®, First Essentials^®, Hoyle^®, Kerr^®, Lehigh^®, Lifoam^®, Lillo^®, Loew-Cornell^®, Mapa^®, Millefiori^®, NUK^®, Pine Mountain^®, Quickie^®, Spontex^®, Tigex^®, Waddington, Yankee Candle^® and YOU^®; Outdoor Solutions: Abu Garcia^®, AeroBed^®, Berkley^®, Campingaz^® and Coleman^®, Dalbello^®, ExOfficio^®, Fenwick^®, Greys^®, Gulp!^®, Hardy^®, Invicta^®, Jostens^®, K2^®, Marker^®, Marmot^®, Mitchell^®, Neff^®, PENN^®, Rawlings^®, Shakespeare^®, Squadra^®, Stearns^®, Stren^®, Trilene^®, Völkl^® and Zoot^®; and Consumer Solutions: Bionaire^®, Breville^®, Cadence^®, Crock-Pot^®, FoodSaver^®, Health o meter^®, Holmes^®, Mr. Coffee^®, Oster^®, Patton^®, Rainbow^®, Rival^®, Seal-a-Meal^®, Sunbeam^®, VillaWare^® and White Mountain^®. Headquartered in Florida, Jarden ranks #348 on the Fortune 500 and has over 35,000 employees worldwide. For further information about Jarden, please visit www.jarden.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SOURCE Rawlings