Big League Chew this summer will debut national packaging featuring Dodgers CF Matt Kemp instead of the "cartoon characters that have existed on more than 500 million pouches since Big League Chew first hit shelves 33 years ago,” according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Kemp's image, which does not include the Dodgers' name or logo on his jersey or cap, "will adorn the front of the gum package" beginning in June. The brand through a partnership with PLB Sports “also has signed” Phillies P Cole Hamels. PLB Sports “secured the players' deals and, like most of the products it sells, linked up a charity component.” Some proceeds from Kemp's "cut of the deal ... will go to Kemp's Kids,” an inner-city baseball charity. The gum pouches "will be sold at the usual retail price, which ranges from $1 to $1.99, depending on the outlet.” Rovell noted aside from a “brief period of time when the brand had a marketing deal with the MLB Players Alumni Association and retired players appeared on pouches, most of the packaging has featured the work” of artist Bill Mayer (ESPN.com, 3/6).
