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The Perfect Game All-American Classic will have some stars leading the way in the dugouts.
The world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform announced Wednesday that World Series champion Joe Girardi and former All-Star outfielder Shane Victorino will serve as managers. The game will take place on Sunday, August 16 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
The All-American Classic will feature many of the best high school baseball players in the country. Girardi, who won three World Series as a player during his 15-year career, and one as manager of the New York Yankees, said it’s a “thrill” to be a part of the game.
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Joe Girardi greets the crowd during New York Yankees Old-Timers’ Day on August 24, 2024, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Sportswire icon via Getty Images)
“It’s exciting for me to be surrounded by so much young talent. I think the Major Leagues have a lot of young talent and this will give me the opportunity to see more and probably in three or four years I will say that young man in the Major Leagues I had the opportunity to manage and I saw him when he was 17 years old, and you could tell he was going to be a Major League player,” Girardi told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview.
“I’m very excited about it and being around so many great players and the most important thing for me is that they have fun and enjoy this and realize what they’ve achieved so far, but this is just scratching the surface.”
The former Philadelphia Phillies manager said he will tell players they have a “gift.”
“I would tell them that you have a gift and that gift is baseball. And don’t waste it. Put everything you have into getting better every day. Take care of your body, take care of your mind, making sure you don’t overwork yourself, but you have to work. I mean, this is a game of repetition, and you have the opportunity to do something really special that very few people have the opportunity to do. And don’t waste the effort,” Girardi said.
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Team Victorino’s Shane Victorino bats during the MLBx All-Star 3-on-3 Challenge presented by ITO EN at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (MLB photos via Getty Images)
“Don’t waste your chance here. Really, really pursue this and you will be rewarded.”
Not only will the players have Girardi and Victorino to look to, but they will also be guided by a host of assistant coaches who shined in the major leagues. The coaching staff includes 1995 American League Most Valuable Player Mo Vaughn, Hall of Fame pitcher Trevor Hoffman, All-Star outfielder Ryan Klesko, along with MLB veterans Todd Coffey, Denard Span and Jason Phillips.
Rounding out the coaching staff will be members of the Phillies’ 1993 National League championship team Milt Thompson and Ben Rivera, 2008 World Series champions Kyle Kendrick and Tom “Flash” Gordon, and 2010 and 2011 National League East champion José Contreras.
Also among the coaching staff is Girardi’s son, Dante.
“I also get to train alongside my son, Dante, and that’s really special to me because Dante has always loved the game since he was 5 years old. We went through these Perfect Game events and I actually trained for his FTB team one year when I wasn’t coaching and I went to the big Perfect Game events,” Girardi said.
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Dante Girardi with his father, Joe Girardi, in the outfield of Yankee Stadium. (Courtesy of Dante Girardi)
“We went to Atlanta and I remember we built a bed in the back of the truck while we were driving around playing in different places. They are very fond memories for me and will create another great memory between my son and I. And I’m sure he will have a lot of advice for me. And I should probably listen to him because he understands what it’s like to be young.”
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Girardi guaranteed that one of the players in this game will be in an All-Star Game in the future.
The All-American Classic debuted in 2003, and since its inception, the game has featured some of the biggest names in Major League Baseball at the event. Bryce Harper, Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt. Jr, Gerrit Cole and Francisco Lindor are among the star players who have played in the sport over the years.
