CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, March 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Perfect Game President Jerry Ford today announced that the organization's famed National Showcase will take place in St. Petersburg, FL, between July 14-18, at Tropicana Field, home of the 2020 American League champion, Tampa Bay Rays.

This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Perfect Game National Showcase, as it makes a return visit to its familiar home at Tropicana Field.  "The Trop" has hosted previous National Showcases in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2018.

Over the past 20 years, the PG National has established itself as North America's premier showcase by providing a best-in-class platform for elite baseball players heading into their final year of high school baseball. The National Showcase provides a unique opportunity for these players to compete with and against the best players on the continent.  

Since its inception, 435 current and former Major League Baseball players have participated at the PG National, and over 2,500 Showcase participants have been selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.  In 2020, 65 PG National alums were selected in the five-round MLB Draft, including 17 in the first round. The National Showcase alumni list includes Major Leaguers and MVPs, Cody Bellinger, Kris Bryant, Freddie Freeman, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Joey Votto, and Christian Yelich, as well as Rookie of the Year winners Pete Alonso, Carlos Correa, Jose Fernandez, Jeremy Hellickson, Wil Myers, Corey Seager, and Devin Williams.

"Perfect Game is thrilled to once again be at Tropicana Field for the 2021 Perfect Game National Showcase," said Perfect Game Founder and President, Jerry Ford.  "Players like Prince Fielder, Joey Votto, BJ and Justin Upton, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Javier Baez, Francisco Lindor and many other MLB All Stars showcased at The Trop at their respective PG Nationals, and we are excited to find the next MLB stars at this year's event. The move back to the domed Tropicana Field also allows Perfect Game to better accommodate the needs of the hundreds of top prospects and their families who will be attending, along with the scouts and college recruiters that attend PG National each year. It's great when you're in a Major League stadium and don't have to deal with any weather issues. The talent level is always the very best of the best. In most years every high school player drafted in the first round has attended the National Showcase. There are many others that attend college first and then are drafted in the first round."

During the National Showcase, PERFECTGAME.TV will provide extensive coverage of the games, including live streaming and video-on-demand, hosted by Emmy Award winner Daron Sutton. Throughout the Showcase, Sutton will be joined by a number of guests to help provide viewers at home a behind-the-scenes look at all the action.

For more information, please visit PerfectGame.org.

Media Contact: Daron Sutton, [email protected]; 602-769-5712

About Perfect Game

Perfect Game is the world's largest elite youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, producing over 5,500+ tournaments, 40,000+ games, showcases and events 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. 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 1,400 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.

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SOURCE Perfect Game USA