BACKPANINI AMERICA NAMED AN OFFICIAL PARTNER OF AREA CODE BASEBALL
Irving, TX – August 6, 2025 – Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company, has announced a multi-year partnership with Area Code Baseball, a leading showcase for amateur baseball talent in the United States.
Area Code Baseball features a variety of events and series for youth and high school baseball players to compete at a top level and perform for talent evaluators. The centerpiece is the Area Code Games, a six-day showcase featuring more than 240 high school players, with scouts from all 30 MLB teams and coaches from multiple collegiate programs in attendance. The 2025 Area Code Games are taking place August 6-11 in Long Beach, California. First contested in 1987, hundreds of MLB players are alumni of the Area Code Games.
As part of the partnership, Panini will create trading cards for athletes competing in the Area Code Games and will have a presence at additional Area Code Baseball events, including the Area Code Underclass Games and the Area Code ID Series. The two organizations will also collaborate on select marketing initiatives.
“We believe in empowering and celebrating athletes at all levels,” said Jason Howarth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations for Panini. “Partnering with Area Code Baseball, which has provided opportunities for players to realize their baseball dreams for nearly 40 years, is a great way to reinforce our support of young athletes. We look forward to working with the team at Area Code Baseball and to the Area Code Games.”
“Entering our 39th year, Area Code Baseball is excited to kick off our partnership with Panini America, the worldwide leader in collectibles. With a shared passion for serving the present and future generations of baseball, partnering together made too much sense and through this collaboration we look forward to continuing our pursuit of delivering the best opportunities for our Area Code Games participants,” said Ronny Torres, Vice President of Area Code Baseball.
About Panini America
Panini America is a subsidiary of The Panini Group, established over 60 years ago in Modena, Italy with subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for NFL, NFLPA, NBA, NBPA, NASCAR, FIFA, LIV Golf, the Professional Fighters League, College, Disney, and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini is also the exclusive trading card and sticker partner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Elite 11 and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.
Panini has distribution channels in more than 150 countries and employs a staff of over 1,200. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or
http://blog.paniniamerica.net/. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
About Area Code Baseball
For the last 39 years, Area Code Baseball has provided the nation’s best high school baseball players with an opportunity to compete on amateur baseball’s biggest stage – The Area Code Games. With 253 alums on current MLB rosters and 18 first-round picks in the 2025 MLB Draft, “The Codes” is where baseball’s future superstars perform before hearing their name called on Draft Day. Eight regional teams play in a six-day showcase in California. The rosters will feature the best baseball players from around the nation competing while being evaluated at the highest level. Scouts from all 30 Major League teams and NCAA coaches will be in attendance. This tournament serves as the beginning of a year-long interview process culminating with the Major League Baseball Draft the following summer.
For more information please visit https://www.areacodebaseball.com/ You can also follow Area Code Baseball on social media platforms Instagram, X, and YouTube.
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CONTACTS:
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