Panini, Area Code Baseball teaming up for upcoming set

Panini is extending their reach in the world of collectible baseball cards by reaching a partnership agreement with Area Code Baseball (ACB). The deal, according to Baseball America, is multi-year and was announced as the ACB kicks off in Long Beach, Calif.

With Panini set to lose their NFL and NBA licenses, the company has been increasing their market share of prospect centered products, like Prospect Edition, released earlier this year. | Panini America | https://shorturl.at/pJboI

“With a shared passion for serving the present and future generations of baseball, partnering [with Panini] made too much sense, and through this collaboration," said Ronny Torres, vice president of Area Code Baseball through a press release via Baseball America.

Area Code Baseball is a summer league that features a plethora of some of the top prep players are divided into teams based on where they live and which MLB team markets the reside in. The teams are aptly named by their area codes the players come from. The games are similar to the Under Armour All-American Football game, where professional and college scouts can watch players set to graduate in the next year.

“With a shared passion for serving the present and future generations of baseball, partnering [with Panini] made too much sense, and through this collaboration..."
Ronny Torres, VP of Area Code Baseball

Specific details on the future products have yet to be announced, but with the already-in-place deal with Panini and USA Baseball, Panini is familiar with working with amateur players. USA Baseball currently has a Panini patch on their uniform, and they have a license to release autographs and relic cards of hundreds of USA Baseball players.

As Panini is set to lose their NFL and NBA licensure agreements, they've been working to solidify other agreements and capitalizing on baseball's propsects with the release of their Prospect Edition product earlier this year.