Florida Marlins Latino Baseball.com Player of the Year (left to right): Ralph Paniagua of Latino Baseball.com, Gonzalo Gonzalez of BVK-Meka, Robert Santana and Jose Vera from Coaster Wine&Spirits presented the Player of the Year Award to Miguel Cabrera

LatinoBaseball.com and CITGO Announce Regional Urban Youth Baseball Initiative

Companies support underprivileged inner-city Latino kids; distribute new baseball equipment in top Hispanic markets

New York, NY--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--August 30, 2007--For more than 100 years, Latinos have made significant historic contributions to the game of baseball and its development on a global level. In recognition of this passion, LatinoBaseball.com announces the Urban Youth Baseball Initiative to support and promote the game among deserving Latino inner-city youth.

Since many of today’s superstar franchise players are of Hispanic descent, it’s understandable that baseball is growing at an even higher rate of popularity among urban Latino youth than any other ethnic group.

“We applaud the legacy of modern superstars and the current growth they are encouraging among Latino youth in the inner cities,” said Ralph Paniagua, president of R. Paniagua Inc. (RPI), and publisher of LatinoBaseball.com. “In addition, we recognize the efforts of the coaches who take the time to organize and operate youth baseball leagues throughout America.”

“We have, however, noticed that some kids aren’t able to gain access to some of the most basic baseball equipment such as gloves, bats and baseballs. Although participation in baseball among Latino inner-city youth is on the rise, the equipment they both need and deserve is often beyond their reach,” said Paniagua. “Programs that supply these needs are thankfully made possible with the assistance of good corporate citizens like CITGO Petroleum Corp., the Venezuelan oil concern.”

In four cities, including Miami, Houston, New York and Chicago, 50 Latino youth baseball teams will be hand-selected by their local big league team to participate in the grassroots initiative. Four of the selected teams will then win the opportunity to play in a “round robin” mini-tournament, and the winning team in each city will be featured during the Hispanic Heritage Day at the Ballpark festivities.

The Urban Youth Baseball Initiative and mini-tournament will take place at a local ball field chosen by each professional big league baseball team. The dates for those tournaments are as follows: Miami on Sept. 1, Houston on Sept. 15, New York on Sept. 21, and Chicago on Sept. 26, from 9 to 4 p.m. The Hispanic Heritage Day at the Ballpark events will occur during the regularly scheduled big league baseball game that evening.

“Everyone will be a winner. All of the kids involved will be treated to a day of ballpark food and beverages while watching the mini-tournaments,” said Paniagua. “We would like to thank CITGO for its commitment to baseball and its dedication to making dreams a reality for inner-city youth.”

In addition to CITGO’s sponsorship, the company will also provide each team with an equipment bag including 15 new baseball gloves for kids age 12-13, three bats and a dozen baseballs. Latinobaseball.com is also planning an online Latino baseball history contest for teams located outside of the four participating Urban Youth Baseball Initiative markets, which will provide an opportunity for additional urban youth baseball teams to win an equipment bag of their own.

LatinoBaseball.com is the premiere Web site documenting the history of Latinos in the game of baseball. The site offers the latest statistics on big league players who are Latinos, as well as historical data and articles of interest on the great Latino players of yesteryear. In addition, visitors can find an online database of facts and figures on Latinos and their contributions to professional big-league baseball history, the Caribbean World Series and the Caribbean Winter League.

Hispanic Heritage Day at the Ballpark honors the achievements of past and present star Latino ballplayers in the big leagues with a four-minute scoreboard video presentation to the fans, followed by an on-field award presentation to a current Latino baseball star and legend of the game for their achievements on and off the field. Fans in each city are encouraged to log on to http://www.LatinoBaseball.com to vote for their local team’s recipient of the Latino Baseball Player of the Year Award.

About Latinobaseball.com:
Latinobaseball.com, first produced as a magazine in 1990, is published by R. Paniagua, Inc. RPI is committed to excellence in providing qualitative, integrated, media-leveraged Latino marketing communications programs that are relevant and provide value to the community. RPI is among the most unique and innovative media content providers and urban events marketing firm in the US and serving the Latino community. The firm targets US based Latino audiences with exciting event promotions that deliver this exciting consumer segment and a healthy return on investment. For more information about these and other RPI events and media properties, log on to http://www.LatinoBaseball.com or call Ralph Paniagua at (212) 679-6755.

About CITGO:
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes, asphalt and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information visit: http://www.citgo.com.