San Francisco, CA, Oct. 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the San Francisco Giants played in another instant classic in the 2014 World Series®, Valerie Zabko experienced the night of a lifetime as she witnessed the incredible contest between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals in person at Game Three at AT&T Park. Ms. Zabko was selected as one of the two grand prize winners of the League-wide "Responsibility Has Its Rewards" Sweepstakes for designated drivers. Ms. Zabko, a Giants fan from Novato, was randomly chosen from among the 64,000 Giants fans who pledged to be designated drivers this season, ensuring a safe ride home for their friends and family.
"Through the Budweiser Good Sport program and Responsibility Has Its Rewards sweepstakes, fans are encouraged and rewarded for being responsible and ensuring their friends and family get home safely from the ballpark," said John McHale, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Major League Baseball. "We are proud that our fans have actively participated in these programs and we look forward to recognizing some of these fans during our game's pinnacle event, the World Series."
For the eleventh consecutive season, Major League Baseball (MLB), Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM) Coalition and Anheuser-Busch have joined together to make more fans aware of the designated driver programs offered at MLB ballparks. The designated driver programs and the "Responsibility Has Its Rewards" sweepstakes promote traffic safety by encouraging responsible drinking and positive fan behavior.
"Anheuser-Busch has led our industry in promoting responsible drinking for more than 30 years and Budweiser Good Sport is one of our most visible programs, which reminds fans who choose to drink, to do so responsibly and get their friends home safely," said Kathy Casso, vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility at Anheuser-Busch. "We all share the same streets after the game. This partnership with Major League Baseball, participating stadiums, concessionaires, TEAM and baseball fans displays our collective responsibility to help keep our roads safe." Anheuser-Busch and its wholesalers promote responsible drinking among professional baseball fans by implementing Budweiser Good Sport fan responsibility programs with 24 MLB ballparks throughout the season.
As the San Francisco Giants Designated Driver for the Season, Ms. Zabko received two tickets for Game Three of the 2014 World Series®, was recognized on the video scoreboard and met MLB and Club officials. The Kansas City Royals Designated Driver for the Season, Stephen Stras of Overland Park, attended Game One of the World Series at Kauffman Stadium.
"The success of the Responsibility Has Its Rewards campaign with Major League Baseball and Budweiser is a direct result of the commitment from the League, the MLB Clubs and all the campaign partners," said Jill Pepper, executive director of TEAM Coalition. "Teamwork is what this campaign is all about. It is proof that when everyone - including the fans - takes responsibility, everyone wins."
During the 2014 MLB regular season, nearly 570,000 baseball fans planned ahead and made a responsible, winning play by pledging to be designated drivers.
The top five MLB Clubs for designated drivers in 2014 are:
- St. Louis Cardinals: 66,831 designated drivers
- Milwaukee Brewers: 56,755 designated drivers
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 50,931 designated drivers
- San Diego Padres: 40,027 designated drivers
- Detroit Tigers: 31,119 designated drivers
About MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the oldest professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member Clubs in the U.S. and Canada representing the highest level of professional baseball. Under the guidance of its ninth Commissioner, Allan H. (Bud) Selig, MLB has experienced dramatic changes including Interleague Play, the introduction of the Wild Card, the new expanded postseason format in 2012, the most comprehensive drug-testing program in U.S. professional sports, an unprecedented era of labor peace, significant revenue sharing among the Clubs and a growth in revenue from $1.2 billion in 1992 to more than $8 billion in 2013. Driven by a compelling second half and competitive balance throughout the game, Major League Baseball finished the 2014 regular season with an attendance of 73,739,622, the seventh highest total of all-time. With another strong showing in 2014, all 10 of the highest season totals in Major League Baseball history have come in the last decade. With the continued success of MLB Network and MLB Advanced Media and the return of the MLB Fan Cave, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy the National Pastime. For more information on Major League Baseball, visit www.MLB.com.
About Anheuser-Busch
For more than three decades, Anheuser-Busch and its nationwide network of wholesalers have invested more than $1 billion in national advertising campaigns and community-based programs to promote responsible drinking, prevent underage drinking and drunk driving and address college issues. For more information on these alcohol responsibility efforts and the progress being made, visit www.Anheuser-Busch.com. Budweiser is the Official Beer of Major League Baseball and proudly sponsors 24 of the 30 MLB Clubs.
About TEAM Coalition
TEAM Coalition is an alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaries, stadium service providers, the beer industry, distillers, broadcasters, traffic safety experts and others working together to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports and entertainment facilities. TEAM Coalition members and supporters include Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Aramark, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, Ovations Food Services, Beer Institute, National Beer Wholesalers Association, Anheuser-Busch Companies, MillerCoors, Brown-Forman, Live Nation, National Association of Broadcasters, Contemporary Services Corporation, Elite, International Association of Venue Managers, Stadium Managers Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information, please visit TEAMCoalition.org, RHIR.org or FansDontLetFansDriveDrunk.org.
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