Maytag and MLB today announced a sponsorship deal making the company the league's official washer and dryer in '15. Activation launches today with the "Filthiest Plays of the Week," in which Maytag and MLB ask fans to vote on plays. Baseball HOFer Barry Larkin will help promote the "Filthiest Plays." In addition, Maytag top-load washers will be installed in four ballparks, with a $1M donation going to area Boys & Girls Clubs if a player hits a home run into one of the machines. This is the partnership between MLB and Maytag (MLB).
BAM! POW! Pirates P A.J. Burnett in tomorrow night's MLB All-Star Game will wear custom 3N2 cleats that draw on his love of "Batman." On the front toe and back heel of the cleat, an "AJ" logo combines his initials and No. 34 jersey to form a bat-like shape. Other design elements include the Pittsburgh skyline and a reference to Burnett's "Follow Me" tattoo (3N2). Astros P Lance McCullers in May made his MLB debut wearing Under Armour-branded "Batman" cleats (THE DAILY).
GET OFF MY LAWN: In Hartford, Paul Doyle noted the Double-A Eastern League Hartford Yard Goats rolled out their new logo last week, and more than 1,000 pieces of merchandise "were sold online and at the team's Hartford office over the first day after Wednesday's logo rollout." Orders "came from 39 states as of Saturday morning." Measured in sales, the design "is an immediate success." Designer Brandiose said that the initial sales of Yard Goats merchandise "were more active than any other team they've worked with" (HARTFORD COURANT, 7/12).
T-SHIRT TIME: In N.Y., Harvey Araton reported T-shirts in Boston defending Patriots QB Tom Brady "from the arbitrary justice" of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are "outnumbering and outselling" T-shirts mocking the Yankees. Boston Sports Apparel Owner Mahlon Williams, whose brand created the "Free Brady" shirts, said, "They're the No. 1 seller in Boston. We can't keep them on the stands." The shirts come in "assorted styles, colors and related condemnations of Goodell," and Williams' company "hawks them outside local team venues" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/11).
