Boston Red Sox All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will be the cover athlete for MLB 12 The Show.

A candidate for this year’s America League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, Gonzalez is a four-time All-Star (2008-2011), three-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner (2008, 2009, 2011), and 2011 Silver Slugger Award winner.

The first overall pick by the Florida Marlins in the 2000 MLB Draft, Gonzalez has really come in his own, both on the field and at the plate. A little history on him…in 2010 while playing for the San Diego Padres, he was named team MVP for the third consecutive year and fourth time overall. Then after the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Boston Red Sox last offseason, he enjoyed one of his best professional seasons to date, which included his 1,000 career hit, fourth consecutive All-Star selection, third Gold Glove, first Silver Slugger Award, and a top five finish in batting average (.338) and RBI (117) in all of baseball—not too bad!

"I feel very humbled to be chosen for the cover of MLB 12 The Show," said Gonzalez, who recently won his third Gold Glove Award.  "I think most sports fans would agree it's a dream come true to be immortalized as the cover athlete for a video game so I jumped at the chance to work with a leading franchise like The Show—it's truly a great honor."

"With a standout 2011 season in his first year with the Boston Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez has cemented himself as one of the best all-around players in baseball," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA.  "Similarly, The Show has been the market leader and the highest rated, best-selling baseball video game franchise of all time.  Therefore, Adrian was an easy choice and a perfect fit to represent the next installment of our critically acclaimed series, MLB 12 The Show."