Minor League Baseball Reveals Full Schedule of Games and Unveiling Day Date for 2019 “Copa de la Diversión” - Season-long series returns more than double number of teams and game dates

Minor League Baseball™ (MiLB™) has unveiled the 397-game schedule for its second annual Copa de la Diversión^® (Fun Cup™) event series for 2019. Following an incredibly successful 2018 campaign where Copa de la Diversión (“Copa”)-participating teams authentically connected with their Latinx communities producing dramatic increases in attendance, merchandise sales and commercial partnership revenue, this year’s participating teams look to continue that momentum.
 
The 2019 season will see 72 teams transform their brands to join in Copa’s mission to authentically connect MiLB teams with their diverse communities and embrace and celebrate the culture and values that resonate most with Latinx fans nationwide.
 
April 5 marks the first of the nearly 400 Copa-designated games scheduled for 2019, with Columbus officially debuting Copa’s sophomore season at 6:05 p.m. ET. Highlighting the 2019 schedule is the Copa home opener for 2018 Copa champion Mariachis de Nuevo México (Albuquerque Isotopes), on Saturday, April 6, against fellow Copa participant Abejas de Salt Lake (Salt Lake Bees).
 
“The growth we’re seeing in team participation for Copa is outstanding,” said Kurt Hunzeker, Vice President of Marketing Strategy and Research for Minor League Baseball. “To see this authentic engagement with our Latinx fans in MiLB communities across the country is very exciting. We like to say that you don’t attend a Minor League Baseball game, you feel it. To extend that feeling to a previously underserved fan base is remarkable.”
 
The Copa 2019 schedule comes on the heels of announcements made in late 2018. In November, MiLB announced an agreement with ECHO Incorporated  making it the “Official Outdoor Power Tool of MiLB” and the “Official Outdoor Power Tool of Copa de la Diversión” (“Herramienta Oficial de la Copa de la Diversión”).
 
In select ballparks in 2019, MiLB and its teams will help showcase ECHO’s range of powerful products through pregame “Power Hour presented by ECHO” events to reach potential customers – including team operations staff, sports turf managers, landscaping professionals and homeowners with a knack for lawn care. The events will highlight the uses and functions of ECHO tools built for power, performance and value at designated “Copa de la Diversión” and other regular season games. Participating MiLB teams will also use ECHO products for field and ballpark maintenance.
 
Last December MiLB announced a partnership with the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA)  to become an “Official Partner of MiLB Copa de la Diversión,” making it the first-ever philanthropic partner tied specifically to MiLB's Latinx fan engagement initiative.
 
Copa “Unveiling Day,” slated for March 18, will showcase all 72 identities and logos via a coast-to-coast social media campaign as teams reveal their Copa-specific, culturally-relevant on-field identities. Additionally, full merchandise for each Copa team will be made available exclusively at each participating Copa team’s ballpark and on teams’ retail store sites.
 
Visit MiLB.com for more information on Copa de la Diversión

About Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball is the governing body for all professional baseball teams in the United States, Canada, and the Dominican Republic that are affiliated with Major League Baseball^® clubs through their farm systems. In 2018, Minor League Baseball attracted nearly 40.5 million fans to its ballparks to see baseball’s future stars and experience affordable family-friendly entertainment that has been a staple of Minor League Baseball since 1901. Visit www.MiLB.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
About ECHO Incorporated
ECHO Incorporated is a leading manufacturer of professional-grade, high performance outdoor power equipment for commercial and homeowner use. Based in the Chicagoland Suburbs, the corporation markets its products under the brand names ECHO, Shindaiwa and ECHO Bear Cat. To learn more about each, please visit www.echo-usa.com, www.shindaiwa-usa.com, or www.bearcatproducts.com.