Minnesota Twins Perennial All-Star Joe Mauer Returns As Cover Athlete For MLB® 11 The Show™, Exclusively For The PlayStation®3 (PS3™), PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), And PlayStation®2 Systems

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. (SCEA) announced today the North American release of the #1 selling and rated baseball video game this generation, MLB® 11 The Show™.  Gracing the cover of this year's installment of the market leading Major League Baseball® (MLB®) franchise is a familiar face—3-time Gold Glove winner, 2-time Silver Slugger, 3-time American League (AL) batting champion, 2009 American League Most Valuable Player (MVP), and MLB® 10 The Show™ cover athlete, Joe Mauer, All-Star catcher for the Minnesota Twins.  

Available for the PlayStation®3 (PS3™), PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) including PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) go, and PlayStation®2 systems, MLB 11 The Show is due to arrive in stores on March 8, 2011, just in time for Spring Training.   The Show has been and continues to be the highest ranked officially licensed baseball title of this console generation (according to Metacritic.com), delivering true-to-life gameplay, authentic franchise and season modes, and incredible detail not found in any other sports game.   MLB 11 The Show builds on what has been delivered in previous franchise releases adding compelling features that bring unparalleled innovation and polish to the sports genre.

"I'm extremely honored to return as the cover athlete for MLB 11 The Show," said Joe Mauer.  "Serving as spokesperson for The Show is a thrilling experience, and partnering once again with the best baseball game available was an easy decision and one that I'm very excited about."

" Joe Mauer continues to be a driving force in Major League Baseball as the premier all around player in the game," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA.  "Year in and year out, MLB The Show delivers the best baseball gameplay experience available, truly in a class of its own, so I could not think of a more worthy ambassador to once again represent the highest rated, best selling baseball video game franchise of all time."

In his breakout 2006 season, Mauer became the first catcher in Major League history to lead both leagues in batting average and the first American League catcher to win the batting title, finishing with a .347 average.  In 2008, he showed off his versatility by winning his first Gold Glove Award, but still impressed at the plate becoming the first American League catcher to win the batting title twice, leading the AL with an average of .328.  In 2009, Mauer became the first catcher to lead the Major Leagues in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage in a single year—his .365 average is the all-time highest mark among catchers in MLB history.  He also won his second consecutive Gold Glove, followed by a near-unanimous win for the American League MVP crown, only the second catcher in 33 years to win the coveted award.  In 2010, Mauer captured his third Gold Glove, recorded his 1,000th career Major League hit, and finished third in the AL with a .327 batting average, while his 43 doubles rank second on baseball's all-time list for doubles by a catcher.