ATLANTA, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Media are invited to view a one-of-a-kind piece of baseball memorabilia on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the ESPN Zone in New York's Times Square at a VIP reception and viewing. More than 220 major league baseball players and 16 Baseball Hall of Fame members have signed the hood of a Chevy Tahoe. The signed hood and the Tahoe will be auctioned off in January to benefit youth baseball programs around the country. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage, who helped collect these signatures with AutoTrader.com through the company's Drive to a New Start program, will be on hand to explain the program.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080205/CLTU088LOGO )

The hood is signed by stars like Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, Mariano Rivera, Francisco Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero, Carlos Zambrano, Chipper Jones, Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum. About 220 current players from eight teams - the Los Angels Angles at Anaheim, the San Francisco Giants, the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago Cubs, the Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres - have signed the hood. The hood also made a stop in Cooperstown, N.Y., for the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in July, where Hall of Fame members Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Tom Seaver, Whitey Ford and others also signed. All signatures on the hood were authenticated by Steiner Sports, the leader in sports memorabilia authentication and sports marketing.

Media wishing to attend this event must RSVP to Jackie.noonan@autotrader.com by 5 p.m. on December 11 or bring media credentials to the ESPN Zone in Times Square to be checked in. The New York ESPN Zone is located at the corner of Broadway and West 42nd St. - 1472 Broadway - in Times Square.

Drive to a New Start was one of AutoTrader.com's 2008 marketing and community outreach programs. In each city Gossage visited with AutoTrader.com, he hosted a youth baseball clinic for inner-city children, met fans and signed autographs at pre-game events. At each city, Gossage helped collect players' and coaches' signatures on the hood, with each signature garnering an AutoTrader.com donation to youth baseball programs in those cities. The program raised a total of $100,000.

The Chevy Tahoe, which will be auctioned with the hood, has been dubbed the Ultimate Baseball Ride because of some special upgrades. In addition to "standard" luxury features like top of the line stereo, DVD player with several screens and custom paint, the SUV features Rawlings baseball glove leather seats and steering wheel and baseball-bat ash wood dashboard, door panel and steering wheel accents.

The signed hood and the Tahoe will both be auctioned off to benefit youth baseball programs nationwide on Friday, January 16 at the Barrett-Jackson specialty car auction in Arizona. To learn more about the Drive to a New Start program and about how to bid on this unique piece of baseball history, please visit www.autotrader.com/newstart .

SOURCE: AutoTrader.com

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http://www.autotrader.com/newstart/