Rawlings Moment of the Month Winner for June 2019

Congratulations to HiCast User @socalenforcers for being our Rawlings Moment of the Month for June 2019. Nathaniel Arellano for So Cal Enforcers 12U crushes it with a 3-run homerun in the All American Invitational Tournament at Ballparks of America on 6/30/19. Nathaniel, from California, had been working hard getting ready for the tourney in Missouri and when he hit that ball over the Green Monster, he said that all the hard work was worth it!

HiCast Sports Network selects one winning moment from highlights shared in our app’s HiCast Feed each month all summer long. Winners score their pick from an incredible lineup of Rawlings Sporting Goods bats. Learn more our Rawlings Moment of the Month contest.

Congrats to Our July 4th Weekend Home Run Derby Winner

In honor of Independence Day, we ran a Home Run Derby that began on Thursday, July 4th through Sunday, July 7th! Users shared their HiCast home run highlights from venues across our network to our app's HiCast Feed and were automatically entered in our drawing to win.

Congrats to our winning HiCast User: bmjorgensen for his son Jake Jorgensen’s homerun on 7/6/19 from the Stars and Stripes Showdown at Ballparks of America in Branson, Missouri. Jake plays on the Dallas Bandits 13U team and scored the bat of his choice from the Rawlings lineup of hot bats.

And you’ve got more chances to win! Check out our Rawlings Moment of the Month contest running all summer long. You’ve got time to enter share your highlights to our app’s HiCast Feed, and we’ll pick winners for July, August and September.

Enter Our July 4th Holiday Home Run Derby

Are you playing ball this weekend? In honor of Independence Day, we're running a Home Run Derby beginning Thursday, July 4th through Sunday, July 7th! Share your HiCast home run highlights to our app's HiCast Feed and you're automatically entered in our drawing to WIN the Rawlings BAT of your choice! Tag 'em #homerunderby

UPDATE: Winner to be announced by Thursday, July 18th. Find the Rawlings bat that's right for you!

This Week’s Tourney Lineup – July 4 - 8, 2019

Baseball Heaven hosts Independence Weekend Championship

Sports at the Beach hosts Clash of the Titans

Diamond Nation hosts Garden State Invitational & DN Youth World Series

Ballparks of America hosts Hometown Heroes Salute & Stars & Stripes Showdown

Tyger River Park hosts USA Softball of SC & Senior Softball USA

The Shipyard Park hosts CABA Tourney & Greater MidWest Baseball

East Cobb Baseball Complex hosts Perfect Game 17U & 16U WWBA

Baseball USA Powered by Marucci hosts USSSA of TX Fireworks Festival & High School Showcase Series #5

See Our Complete Network Schedule of Events

Congratulations to Our Father's Day Weekend Winners

Congratulations to our 2019 Father's Day Weekend Highlight Winners:

1. Home Run: 8-yr-old Fenton Morrissey for Morris County Cubs 10U knocks the ball hard to right field and scores in spite of the catcher in his path at home! Shared by HiCast User: @CowboyFen

2. Steal to Score: Look at this aggressive steal to score and tie up the game! Shared by HiCast User: @southeastelite in the Father’s Day Classic at Baseball Heaven on 6/16/19

3. Winning Hit & Run: Runners on 1st & 2nd and Deon Jackson nails it right down the 3rd baseline to send in the winning run for the TKP Huskies in the Perfect Game Youth 10U World Series on 6/16/19 shared by HiCast User @Cdevecchi

Winners receive a FREE 1-Year HiCast Pass. Keep sharing your highlights to our app’s HiCast Feed and you’re automatically eligible for all of our contests this year including the Rawlings Moment of the Month all summer long and our 2019 MVP Awards later this year.

Uniting to Support & Respect Umpires and the Game We Love

Can we be real with you? Recently we received an email from Triple Crown Sports making clear their commitment for enforcing respect for umpires, and we applaud that wholeheartedly. The men and women in blue behind the plate and on the field calling the game we all love are often targets of abuse. You've heard it and seen it as we have. It's a problem.

Many umpires we've met have been players or coaches just like you, and most are parents just like you. Umpires do this work on the field because they love the game, just like us. We won't always agree with an umpire's decision, but let's always respect that the decision is theirs to make. Let it go and move on to the next play. Will you join us in supporting and respecting umpires across all of our venues? Let's hold each other accountable to that. 

Photo above shows Central Georgia Umpires watching their field work and improving their skills at East Cobb Baseball Complex.

Win a Free 1-Year HiCast Pass for Your Pop

It's Father's Day Weekend and we're grateful for the dads, granddads, great granddads and coaches in your life. We're honoring all of them this weekend and happy to announce we'll award 3 FREE 1-Year HiCast Passes (valued at $155) to users with memorable highlights. Just share your highlight to our app's HiCast Feed this weekend (Friday, June 14 - Sunday, June 16) and you're automatically entered to win. Yes, dad, you're eligible to enter too! We'll announce winners on Tuesday, June 18.

Not sure how to tag, save and share a highlight to our HiCast Feed? Watch this video demo.

Here’s this weekend’s tourney lineup across our network:

Baseball Heaven hosts Father's Day Frenzy

Sports at the Beach hosts Pappy Palooza

Diamond Nation hosts Supe 10 & 11 Invitational & Supe 17 Invitational

Ballparks of America hosts Branson City Lights Classic & Father's Day Classic

Tyger River Park hosts Carolina Premier's Super 78 & AYSO Section 5 Games

The Shipyard Park hosts Prep Baseball Report

East Cobb Baseball Complex hosts Perfect Game Youth WWBA 18U

See Our Complete Network Schedule of Events

Rawlings Moment of the Month Winner for May 2019

Congratulations to HiCast User @Baby12 for being our Rawlings Moment of the Month for May 2019. About the moment: Richard Becher Memorial Tournament at Baseball Heaven on 5/19/19. It’s the 10U Championship game between Brooklyn Falcons vs. Madison Tigers. Two outs, two balls, and two strikes... runners on 2nd and 3rd. Joshua Diaz crushes it sending in teammates Christian and Ulysses to score, contributing to their big win!

HiCast Sports Network selects one winning moment from highlights shared in our app’s HiCast Feed each month all summer long. Winners score their pick from an incredible lineup of Rawlings Sporting Goods bats. Learn more our Rawlings Moment of the Month contest.

We've Teamed Up with Rawlings to Bring You Some Big News and a Crack at Winning a Rawlings Bat

We're proud to announce that Rawlings Sporting Goods has joined our team as an Official Network Sponsor. What's in it for you? Awesome prizes, player tips, and great visibility for your Moments That Matter™! We'll award a Rawlings Moment of the Month starting this month and all summer long. Each monthly winner receives your pick from the Rawlings lineup of bats. Woo hoo! Check 'em out.

Who's eligible?
All HiCast Sports Network users. You must have a HiCast Sports account tied to a valid email address as this is how we'll communicate with you. If you don't respond to our winner notification email within 48 hours, we'll pick another winner, so be ready!

How do I enter?
Using your HiCast Sports account, tag, save and share your HiCast highlights (baseball or softball) to our app's HiCast Feed. We'll review all highlights and select winners from the HiCast Feed. Provide details like player's name(s), team name and age division in your caption as we'll ask for this information if you're selected as a winner.

Who gets the prize?
The HiCast User who shared the winning highlight in the HiCast Feed is the prize winner. The winner is welcome to gift the prize to the player featured in the highlight, but that's at the winner's discretion.

What's the monthly deadline?
We'll review highlights throughout the month up through the last day of each month. The date of your highlight share determines the month's eligibility. For example, if your highlight occurred on April 28th, but you shared the highlight to the HiCast Feed on May 1, your highlight is eligible to be a May winner. The monthly winner will be announced on the 11th of the following month. For example, our May eligibility will run through May 31st and we'll announce the winner on June 11.

Covering the ACCC Baseball Championship Series in Partnership with JockJive Sports

May 9-14, 2019 – We’re excited to announce that we’re delivering college baseball in our HiCast Sports Network in partnership with JockJive Sports and thanks to their video coverage and commentary of the Alabama Community College Conference Baseball Championship at Historic Eagles Stadium in Ozark, Alabama. Fans can watch games live at no cost, and create a HiCast Sports Network account to view games on-demand any time, and use our mobile app for iOS to save and share their favorite game highlights with the people who matter most. Email a diving catch to Grandpa, text that double to Aunt Penelope, or post the game-winning home run to share with your social media followers.

Get ACCC Baseball schedule and details here

View live games this weekend and create your account here to watch on-demand and save and share the Moments That Matter™

Covering the ACCC Softball Championship in Partnership with JockJive Sports

May 3-6, 2019 – We’re excited to announce our first opportunity to deliver college softball in our HiCast Sports Network in partnership with JockJive Sports and thanks to their video coverage and commentary of the Alabama Community College Conference Softball Championship at Veteran’s Park in Alabaster, Alabama. Fans can watch games live at no cost, and create a HiCast Sports Network account to view games on-demand any time, and use our mobile app for iOS to save and share their favorite game highlights with the people who matter most. Email a home run to Grandma, text that great catch to Uncle Ralph, or post the game-winning run to share with your social media followers.

Get ACCC Softball Championship details here.

View live games this weekend and create your account here to watch on-demand and save and share the Moments That Matter™

May 6 Update:

1:00pm CDT Championship Final Game: Shelton State defeats Wallace Dothan 10-4

11:00am CDT Championship Game 1: Wallace Dothan defeats Shelton State 4-2

Covered in partnership with JockJive Sports

Announcing Our Hot Highlight Weekend Winners

We were blown away by your highlights submitted April 11-15 for our first 2019 Hot Highlight Weekend Contest. It was tough to pick just three winners, so we decided to award four! Each of our HiCast Users will receive a Rawlings Sackpack thanks to Rawlings Sporting Goods.

HiCast User: @cora for an over-the-fence home run by #1 in the USA Softball of SC tourney at Tiger River Park on 4/13/19

HiCast User: @adam.haber27 for Adam Saber’s diving catch at center field at East Cobb Baseball Complex on 4/11/19

HiCast User: @Paulmaida1 for Ryan Maida’s walk-off home run for the Long Island Hurricanse 11U in the Baseball Heaven Swing Into Spring Championship game on 4/14/19.

HiCast User: @Eagles007 for a fantastic double-play featuring two tags by the catcher on Field 6 at Diamond Nation on 4/14/19

Congratulations to our winners! Stay tuned for our next contest and keep sharing your Moments That Matter™ to our app’s HiCast Feed as it’s the source for our contest entries including our second annual 2019 Most Valuable Play Awards coming at the end of the year.

Weekend Contest Alert!

Let’s see your Moments That Matter™ this weekend! We'll pick 3 Hot Highlight Winners on Tuesday, April 15th. Winners score a Rawlings Sporting Goods Sackpack! Must be a HiCast Sports user to enter. Share your game highlights from Thurs. April 11 through next Monday, April 15 to our app's HiCast Feed. We'll announce the winners right here next Tuesday! Questions? Give us a shout: support@hicastsports.com

Good Luck!

Central Georgia Umpires Are Improving Their Game with the HiCast Sports Network

Central Georgia Umpires, lead by founder John Turner, is using HiCast Sports Network technology at East Cobb Baseball Complex to improve their game. We sat it on their annual Barry Suttle Memorial Camp for umpires to learn more about how they were using our solution to train new umpires and coach more experienced umpires. John uses our mobile app to make sure that his umpires are in place on the fields and reviews game footage as needed when tournament directors express issues or concerns. He shares highlights to visually communicate issues and positives to his team of umpires for coaching purposes.

“The first person that I watched when I turned the cameras on was myself. It was a huge eye opener. It’s a great way to get yourself back in the groove... and a great tool to be able to show (my team of umpires) what they look like. Having the ability to see ourselves on TV really gives us a huge advantage on looking more professional and doing it the right way.”

— John Turner, Founder of Central Georgia Umpires

John started playing baseball at age five. His father, JP Turner, an umpire for youth and high school baseball for more than 40 years helped foster John’s appreciation and understanding of the game. At age 15, John transitioned from player to umpire, following in his father and older brother’s footsteps. He’s been an umpire for the bulk of his career and founded Central Georgia Umpires to share his love for baseball and improve the quality of umpires in Georgia. The Central Georgia Umpires team of 100 umpires officiates all games at East Cobb Baseball Complex including Perfect Game and Triple Crown tournaments, and ECB-hosted events. They also umpire southeast regional collegiate showcases.

John shares that the most difficult part of being an umpire is similar to that of most leaders in that the role requires one to take full responsible for moving the game forward and communicating direction to the teams, while maintaining a good rapport with players, coaches and fans.

“Most of us played the game with the same goal, which was to hit the game-winning run in the final game of the World Series. These kids today are trying to live that same dream. For some kids they’re going to get as close to that dream as they ever will, so they deserve to have every game officiated like it’s game seven of the World Series. That’s what I like doing. I feel like I’m giving back to the game when I’m out there.””

— John Turner, Founder of Central Georgia Umpires

His advice to parents and fans on how to better support the game? “Read the rulebook and understand how it’s applied to the game. Some people look for loopholes to gain an advantage, but it’s our job to make sure neither team gains an advantage so that the game can be played fairly by everyone.”

Android Version is No Longer Available

We’ve taken our HiCast Sports Android version off the shelf of the Google Play Store for now. Android users can run our web viewer on the mobile browser of your Android device to watch games live and on-demand. To access our web viewer go here: http://hcst.me

If you have questions, give us a shout.

Maritime Privateer's Catcher Jake Vera's Play at the Plate Goes Viral!

SUNY Maritime College Privateer catcher Jake Vera tags the runner at home for the out in their dramatic 5-4 win against Plattsburgh State on February 24, 2019 at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, NY, a venue covered by our HiCast Sports Network.

We shared this highlight on the morning of Tuesday, February 27 following the Maritime vs. Plattsburgh State double-header on a tip from the pitcher Matt Paghidas’ mom Ellen and it’s been retweeted, reposted, and shared ever since attracting hundreds of thousands of views from fans worldwide including the MLB Network, ESPN Sports Center, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated followers.

Photo by Maritime Athletics

We caught up with catcher Jake Vera to hear more about this Moment That Matters™…

“It’s kinda crazy, we were just watching MLB Hot Stove and saw it,” said Jake Vera, the catcher who made the play at the plate, a junior at SUNY Maritime.

The Maritime Privateers typically play on their home field, but due to weather conditions during the early portion of their season, they are known to play at Baseball Heaven, a venue in our HiCast Sports Network where we cover all games.

Leading up to the infamous play, the Maritime Privateers were up 5-3 in the final inning of the game. Jake’s roomate Matt Paghidas took the mound and was throwing harder than usual that day. “He blew the first two strikes by the kid and I guess the kid at second was trying to get to third. We ended up having the pick off and the throw went into center field after the ball got past our shortstop. When I saw the throw coming in (to home plate), I knew it was going to be a close play. So I just tried to jump up and make the play but obviously it was way too high. When I turned around, I just saw the ball bounce right back to me and the kid trying to get back to home plate. As I saw the throw go over my head, I just figured we’re going to have to win in a different way, but when I tagged him it was just crazy. Everyone was just going nuts and it was pretty cool.” shared Jake.

Jake Vera grew up in Plainview, NY and has been play baseball for as long as he can remember. He started with T-ball and played baseball for his town team in Bethpage, New York as a child before moving on to travel teams during his teen years and then on to the collegiate level.

Jake knew that the HiCast Sports Network recorded games at Baseball Heaven, but shared that he “honestly didn’t know it would go crazy like this. I can’t even put it into words right now how awesome this is – not just for me – but everyone on our team is really pumped about it. Even our coach texted in our team group chat, ‘sorry about the late practice schedule today, I was re-watching MLB network a couple of times.’ He’s pumped about it too. Overall, it’s a really awesome moment for us.” Read the Maritime College Athletics press release for more.

See the HiCast Sports highlight on MLB.com

Thoughts from a Proud Baseball Dad

We love seeing your Moments That Matter™ in our app’s HiCast Feed. It’s the source we check daily to see your best game highlights across our network, and where we go to seek out highlights to feature, and our contest entries and winners. We love hearing more details about your highlights and when an email comes in like this from a HiCast User and baseball dad like this one, it sure makes us happy to be doing what we’re doing and we’re proud to share it.

Third baseman Thomas with the diving stop and rocket throw to first for the out in the USSSA 300 Point Weekend at Baseball USA Powered by Marucci on 2/17/19. Shared by HiCast user and dad Mitch who wrote this:

“Thomas turns 13 on May 4th. He’s playing up in the 13U AAA division with the Bellaire Bombers, coached by Nick Ozuna, who is also the head coach at Bellaire High School in Houston. This is the second ‘big event’ clip that I’ve captured and shared using HiCast. The first was Thomas’ inaugural home run, also at BBUSA. This was his first tournament with this team, which consists mainly of playing buddies from Bellaire Little League, with one player from the Post Oak LLWS team as well. We won this tournament. Looking forward to more in the future. Thanks to HiCast for making the capture of these serendipitous memories possible. Worth every penny.”

2019 Calendar of Coverage for Venues Across our HiCast Sports Network

We’re beginning to warm up for the 2019 season across our network and getting fired up to see your Moments That Matter™! Check out our up-to-date for tournaments and games across our network. Here are some key opening days and first tourneys coming up at our venues playing now through March (weather permitting):

Baseball USA Powered by Marucci – TX USSSA Tourneys underway

Traction Sportsplex, Baton Rouge, LA – First tourney, 300 Point Tiger Showdown XVII, kicks off on Feb 16

The Shipyard Park, Charleston, SC – First tourney, PBR Showdown, kicks off Feb 22

East Cobb Baseball Complex, Marietta, GA – First tourney, Perfect Game Spring Kick Off, kicks off March 1

Diamond Nation, Flemington, NJ – First tourney, Spring Fever, kicks off March 9

Tyger River Park, Spartanburg, SC – First tourneys, USA Softball of SC and NSA Slow Pitch Softball, kick off March 9

Sports at the Beach, Georgetown, DE – First tourney, Lucky Charm Challenge, kicks off March 16

Buckhead Baseball, Atlanta, GA – Opening Day on March 16

Baseball Heaven, Yaphank, NY –First tourney, Pre-Season Bash, kicks off March 22

Be sure to share your highlights all year long in our app’s HiCast Feed. This is the source of our contest entries and where we find and promote your best highlights. Who’s ready to play ball?

Announcing the Winners of Our 2018 HiCast Sports MVP Awards Presented by Rawlings

December 10, 2018 – HiCast Sports Network in partnership with Rawlings Sporting Goods is proud to announce the grand prize winners of the HiCast Sports 2018 Awards for Youth Baseball chosen by our judge, Legendary Hall of Fame Shortstop Ozzie Smith. His comments follow each winning highlight below.

Most Valuable Defensive Plays

1. Jeremy Payne’s Diving Catch for Sta-Mo Storm Major Baseball 13U at Shortstop at Baseball USA in Houston, TX shared by HiCast user: divalishish24 from TX – “He had to range far to his left and go airborne. Showed great athleticism.”

2. Mitchell Kahlenberg’s Diving Catch in Right Field for SBA - Mendez 14U at Shipyard Park in Charleston, SC shared by HiCast user: tctiger33 from SC – “He made a great recovery on a ball that was hard to judge off the bat.”

3. Lukas Loring’s Diving Stop and Throw at Short Stop for the Out for Bagel Bombers 12U at Sports at the Beach in Georgetown, DE shared by HiCast user: Mloring from MD – “Good instincts and good reaction.”

Most Valuable Offensive Plays

1. Erick Diaz’s 2-Run Home Run for Jersey Storm 12U at Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ shared by HiCast user: heriberto from NJ – “Very big league.”

2. Kevin Henrich’s 2-Run Home Run for Bellringers National 13U at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, NY shared by HiCast user: Henrich_kevin from PA – “He had great approach and a great swing.”

3. Zach Turko’s Inside-the-Park Grand Slam for Diamond Studs 15U at Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ shared by HiCast user: eturko from NJ – “Ran hard right off the bat which forced the defense to make a play.

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Learn more about our 2018 HiCast Sports MVP Awards Presented by Rawlings and be sure to save your highlights in our app’s HiCast Feed throughout 2019 to be automatically entered in our contests and chances to be featured this year.

Announcing the Top 10 Finalists for Best Offensive and Defensive Plays in the HiCast Sports 2018 MVP Awards Presented by Rawlings

On December 1, 2018 at 12:00am ET, the polls closed for the online voting phase of the HiCast Sports 2018 MVP Awards for Youth Baseball Presented by Rawlings. The Top 25 Semi-Finalists (selected from more than 4,000 eligible highlights shared in the HiCast Sports Network from venues across America) representing the Most Valuable Plays for Offensive and Defense that received the highest number of votes secured their spots as Top 10 Finalists and now move on to the judging phase of our contest.

The contest is now in the hands of our judge, Legendary Hall of Fame Shortstop Ozzie Smith. Former MLB player for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996, Ozzie Smith set major league records for career assists and double plays by a shortstop, as well as the National League record with 2,511 career games at the position. He won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons (1980–92) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002. He will select our Top 3 Best Offensive Plays and Top 3 Best Defensive Plays and we’ll announce the winners on Monday, December 10.

All prizes are provided by Rawlings Sporting Goods. Offensive MVP Winners receive custom gloves and Defensive MVP Winners receive the new 2019 Quatro bats. All Finalists receive the new Mach batting helmet.

Congratulations to our HiCast Sports 2018 MVP Award Finalists! Tap to view each award-winning highlight covered by the HiCast Sports Network.

Top 10 Best Offensive Plays

1. Jared Scharlat inside-the-park grand slam at Baseball Heaven shared by HiCast user caryscharlat

2. Kyle Urban Grand Slam. Bethpage Eagles 17U at Sports at the Beach shared by HiCast user kylurban

3. Doron Griffin's First Home Run. DE Diamond Kings 11U at Sports at the Beach shared by HiCast user doritrg

4. Ulisses' Base Running Skills Sends the Runner Home to Score. Jersey Boyz Baseball Club at Diamond Nation shared by HiCast User Jax61904

5. Connor's Grand Slam at Sports at the Beach shared by HiCast user lorjas

6. Erick Diaz's 2-Run Home Run. Jersey Storm 12U at Diamond Nation shared by HiCast user heriberto

7. Jacoby Harnen First Out-of-the-Park Home Run. MVP Bluejackets 11U at Diamond Nation shared by HiCast user ajharnen

8. Kingsten Davis' Grand Slam. Houston 24K at Traction Sportspex shared by HiCast user Kingsten8

9. Kevin Henrich's 2-Run Home Run. Bellringers National 13U in the NYBC at Baseball Heaven shared by HiCast user Henrich_kevin

10. Zach Tutko Inside-the-Park Grand Slam. Diamond Studs 15U at Diamond Nation shared by HiCast user etutko

Top 10 Best Defensive Plays

1. Michael Scotto's Diving Catch in Left Field. South Shore Sharks 10U at Sports at the Beach shared by HiCast user rscotto

2. Vincent Fattore's Diving Catch in Center Field. Diamond Jacks 14U at Diamond Nation shared by HiCast user lisapooh9

3. Mitchel Kahlenburn's Diving Catch in Right Field. SBA - Mendez 14U at Shipyard Park shared by HiCast user tctiger33

4. Shortstop Lukas Loring's Diving Stop & Throw for the Out. Bagel Bombers 12U at Sports at the Beach shared by HiCast user Mloring

5. Jeremy Payne's Diving Catch at Shortstop. Stamo Storm Major Baseball 13U at Baseball USA shared by HiCast user divalishish24

6. Jonah James Rocha makes the game-winning catch that took the 8U Texas Mizuno into the semi-final game at Baseball USA shared by HiCast user rubtar

7. DP by Forrest Mitterbauer 1st, Pitcher Vince Cannizzaro, Catcher Joshua Nachmann. SKD Aces 10U at Diamond Nation shared by HiCast user mauracarland

8. Brayden Cole's Diving Catch in Center Field. Scorpions 10U at Baseball USA shared by HiCast user Pcole1128

9. Catcher Jacob Fontenot and Pitcher Conley Goodlife Play at the Plate. Leopard Dawgs 9U at Traction Sportsplex shared by HiCast user leoparddawg2018

10. Nate Spingler's Diving Catch at Shortstop. All Out Pack 9U at Diamond Nation shared by HiCast user dollardave96

We’ll announced the winners right here on Monday, December 10!

Legendary Hall of Fame Shortstop Ozzie Smith to Judge HiCast Sports 2018 MVP Awards Presented by Rawlings

We’re honored and thrilled to announce that one of the greatest pro ballplayers of all time, Ozzie Smith, will judge our HiCast Sports MVP Awards for Youth Baseball. Former MLB player for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996, Ozzie Smith set major league records for career assists and double plays by a shortstop, as well as the National League record with 2,511 career games at the position. He won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons (1980–92) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002.

On November 5th, we selected the Top 25 Semi-Finalists for Best Offensive Play and Top 25 for Best Defensive from more than 4,000 highlights shared across our HiCast Sports Network of venues. On that day, the online voting phase of our contest began as we invited the general public to cast their votes for one or more of their favorite plays to help determine the Top 10 Finalists in each category. This Friday, November 30th is our final day to cast votes, and on December 1st at 12:00am, the Top 10 Plays in each category with the most votes will go before our judge, Legendary Hall of Fame Shortstop Ozzie Smith. He will award our Top 3 Winners for Best Offensive Play and Best Defensive Play on Monday, December 10.

This contest wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our partner, Rawlings Sporting Goods. They’ve provided an incredible lineup of prizes for our winners including new 2019 Quatro Bats for the three Best Offensive Play winners, custom gloves for the three Best Defensive Play winners; new Mach batting helmets for the finalists; and sackpacks for all semi-finalists.