Gillette and Major League Baseball team up to Present the 'MLB Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette'

BOSTON, April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With the first month of the 2008 MLB regular season coming to an end, Gillette, a Procter & Gamble Company brand, today announced it will partner with Major League Baseball to present the MLB Rookie of the Month Award to the American League and National League top performing rookie each month.

For the first time, baseball fans will have a voice in determining these officially-sanctioned Major League Baseball awards through online ballots at http://www.mlb.com/gillette.

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Nominees are selected from all eligible players by pre-determined on-field statistical criteria. Winners of the MLB Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette are now determined by an online vote that will represent 20% of the overall vote with the remaining votes coming from a select panel of baseball writers and Club broadcasters.

"Major League Baseball and Gillette have a long standing and successful business relationship, so it is a great pleasure to announce this new program that allows fans greater access to Major League Baseball," said John Brody, Senior Vice President, Corporate Sales & Marketing, Major League Baseball. "The 'MLB Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette' will honor the finest young talent in the game, and our fans will play an integral role in selecting the top performing rookie in both the American and National League each month."

Voting will begin during the first week of each month as fans will be able to vote exclusively at http://www.mlb.com/gillette to choose who they believe is the most deserving nominee for the "MLB Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette". Once voting is concluded, Gillette, Major League Baseball and MLB Advanced Media will announce the winning rookie for each League in a monthly press release and will congratulate the winners online at http://www.mlb.com/gillette. Gillette will also present the award winners with a MLB Rookie of the Month trophy following the announcement and make a donation to a charitable organization in the award recipient's name.

Every voter for the "MLB Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette" will automatically be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to the 2008 MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium or to a game of the 2008 World Series, depending on the month of entry.

"We are extremely excited about this partnership and look forward to giving fans the opportunity to help determine the best rookies each month," said Michelle Potorski, Associate Marketing Director, Gillette North America. "Gillette is proud to work with Major League Baseball and the fans to salute the best young players."

About Major League Baseball Properties

The Major League Baseball Clubs formed Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) in 1966 as the Clubs' 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 rights holders 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 http://www.mlb.com/.

About Procter & Gamble

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Gillette(R), Braun(R), Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R) and Wella(R). The P&G community consists of 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com/ for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

Contact: James Masopust Taylor Communications 1-212-714-5730 jmasopust@taylorpr.com