FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2005

 

On May 4, Major League Baseball and DHL will introduce the first winner of a new, officially-sanctioned Major League Baseball award recognizing the most outstanding relief pitcher for each month of the regular season. The ?DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award? is one of two new MLB-sanctioned, DHL-sponsored awards, part of a sponsorship agreement announced in March between Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) and DHL, the world?s leading express delivery and logistics company. DHL is the ?Official Express Delivery and Logistics Provider? of both Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball Advanced Media.

 

Each ?DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award? winner will be selected by a special Major League Baseball ?yellow-ribbon? panel that includes Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley; Jerome Holtzman, Official MLB Historian and a member of the Writer?s Wing of the Hall of Fame; Rick Sutcliffe, 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner, ESPN and MLB International broadcaster; and Bob Watson, Vice President, On-Field Operations, Major League Baseball.

Throughout the 2005 season, this ?yellow-ribbon? panel will select the relief pitcher who gave that month?s most dominant performance for his respective Major League Baseball Club. As part of the award, DHL will donate $1,500 to a local chapter of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the official charity of Major League Baseball, in the name of each winning pitcher. In addition, the announcement of the monthly winner will be supported by an advertisement in USA Today.

?We are pleased to announce this new, officially-sanctioned League award,? said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. ?The ?DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award? will become the gold standard for relief pitchers and an award our fans can look forward to hearing about every month throughout the season.?

?Each recipient of the ?DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award? will have to perform brilliantly at key moments over long stretches of the season,? said Dennis Eckersley, one of the most dominant closers in MLB history. In addition to his role on the ?yellow-ribbon? panel, Eckersley will serve as DHL?s expert commentator for the award announcements, providing his insights on the winning ?Delivery Man? performances to various DHL audiences and venues. ?I am honored to play a part in an award that will recognize relief pitchers throughout the league that are called upon to deliver in the clutch,? added Eckersley.

?DHL is proud to recognize, through the ?DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award?, outstanding Major League Baseball relief pitchers and their efforts to consistently deliver their teams to victory,? said Karen Jones, Vice President, Brand, Advertising and Promotions, for DHL. ?We are thrilled with the positive response DHL?s partnership with Major League Baseball has received from our customers, partners and employees, and we look forward to supporting MLB throughout the 2005 season and beyond.?

At the conclusion of the season, Major League Baseball fans will have the opportunity to determine which relief pitcher had the best overall season through the ?DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award.? A list of finalists will be selected based on statistical qualifiers and fans will be able to vote for the winner online at MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball. The ?DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award? will be presented during the Major League Baseball postseason.

 

About Major League Baseball Properties

The Major League Baseball Clubs formed Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) in 1966 as the Club?s agent for marketing and trademark licensing and protection. Major League Baseball Properties is responsible for managing consumer licensing activities, developing national advertising campaigns, cultivating sponsorship opportunities with major consumer brands and corporations, growing the game and the business of baseball outside the United States and creating national marketing programs in conjunction with Clubs, broadcast rightsholders and national sponsors. MLBP also operates a full-service video and audio production unit (Major League Baseball Productions), a publishing division and stock photo licensing agency, and manages logistics for the All-Star Game and World Series as well as all other special events. For more information about Major League Baseball, log on to www.MLB.com.

About DHL

With annual revenues over $32 billion in 2004, DHL is the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry, specializing in providing innovative and customized solutions from a single source.

 

DHL offers expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport and logistics solutions, combined with worldwide coverage and an in-depth understanding of local markets. Over 170,000 employees are dedicated to providing fast and reliable services that exceed customers? expectations. Founded in San Francisco in 1969, DHL?s international network links more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. For more information on DHL, please visit www.dhl.com.

Who won the first one?

Jose Mesa

That's a dumb name for an award, they should have just named it the DHL Relief Pitcher of the Month award.

That's a stupid name for an award.

Where did DHL come from all a sudden with so much money for advertising, and why is the MLB naming awards after companies?

 

Next we'll have the MVP presented by McDonalds and the Halliburton Silver Slugger Award.

That's a stupid name for an award.

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F**k DHL!!!

 

:lol

Where did DHL come from all a sudden with so much money for advertising, and why is the MLB naming awards after companies?

 

Next we'll have the MVP presented by McDonalds and the Halliburton Silver Slugger Award.

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MLB has been naming awards after companies for many many decades; the Rawlings Gold Glove, the Louisville Silver Slugger, etc. You just don't really notice it because they're respected baseball companies or the company that sponsors the award really fits the title well, such as the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award.