SAN DIEGO, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Power on the mound and at the plate helped Michael Burgess, a left handed pitcher and outfielder from Tampa's Hillsborough High School, earn the nation's top baseball honor, the 2006 Aflac High School Player of the Year.
Burgess was presented with the fourth annual Jackie Robinson Award during the Aflac All-American Awards Dinner tonight at the Town & Country Resort in San Diego. On hand to make the presentation were the late Hall of Famer's widow, Rachel Robinson, and Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson.
The Aflac National High School Player of the Year recognizes the nation's top high school player entering his senior year, who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits leadership, and embodies the values of being a student- athlete in both his schoolwork and community affairs. The trophy, called the Jackie Robinson Award, is named for the renowned Brooklyn Dodger, the first player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, and a leader in social issues off the field.
Last season, Burgess batted .511 (45-for-88) with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs, 11 doubles and 24 stolen bases as a junior at Hillsborough. He led his high school team to the state Class 5-A championship series, finishing as runners- up after losing to Milton's Pace High 11-7. In the championship game against Pace, Burgess crushed a home run that traveled an estimated at 465 feet at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. Bo Jackson, Cecil Fielder and Frank Thomas are reportedly the only players to hit balls of that distance at the stadium.
Burgess was chosen from among six nominees determined by official Aflac All- American Baseball Classic selection partners Baseball America and Perfect Game. The other player of the year nominees included:
* Matt Harvey, RHP, Fitch HS -- Mystic, Conn.
* Justin Jackson, SS, T.C. Roberson HS -- Asheville, N.C.
* Michael Main, RHP/OF, DeLand HS -- Deltona, Fla.
* Greg Peavey, RHP, Hudson Bay HS -- Vancouver, Wash.
* Robert Stock, C/RHP, Agoura HS -- Westlake Village, Calif.
Also honored were Derek Dietrich and Michael Main. In a balloting of coaches, players and staff, Dietrich, from St. Ignatius High School (Parma, Ohio), took the Sportsmanship Award for his efforts this week. Baseball America also named Deland (Fla.) High School's Michael Main its Pitching Prospect of the Year.
The fourth annual Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic will be played on Saturday, August 12th at San Diego State's Tony Gwynn Stadium. The event is the nation's elite high school baseball showcase featuring the top 38 rising senior players in an East vs. West match-up. Reggie Jackson is the honorary chairman of the 2006 game, which will be televised live nationally on FSN at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Net proceeds from the game will benefit San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital and Health Center.
For more information about the Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic and to download pictures and bios of the players, log on to http://www.aflacallamerican.com/.
For more than 50 years, Aflac products have given policyholders the opportunity to direct cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and the number one insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in force in Japan. Aflac's insurance products provide protection to more than 40 million people worldwide. Aflac has been included in Fortune magazine's listing of America's Most Admired Companies for six consecutive years and Forbes magazine's Platinum 400 List of America's Best Big Companies for five consecutive years. In January 2006, Aflac was included in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the eighth consecutive year. Aflac was also included in Fortune magazine's list of the Top 50 Employers for Minorities in August 2005, and in September 2005, Aflac Japan was named the Life Insurance Company of the Year at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards, sponsored by the Asia Insurance Review. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit http://www.aflac.com/.
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