Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) and Representative Greg Davids (R-Preston) today issued the following statement regarding the decision by Rawlings Sporting Goods and its owners, including Major League Baseball and a private equity group, to close its Miken Sports plant in Caledonia and move manufacturing operations overseas.

“It has been brought to our attention that Rawlings Sporting Goods, the parent company of Miken Sports, is planning to close its Caledonia, MN plant and move hundreds of jobs overseas. Miken has been an important part of the Caledonia area for over 20 years and we are extremely disappointed by the decision to move these operations from small town America to China. We strongly encourage Rawlings to keep the plant open at full capacity and we offer our assistance in helping make the partnership sustainable for both Rawlings and Caledonia for many more years to come — including helping facilitate meetings with the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

“Baseball has long been considered America’s pastime, and we in southeastern Minnesota are proud of Miken’s relationship with Major League Baseball. It would be especially troubling for Major League Baseball to be involved in moving these manufacturing operations overseas when these jobs include producing helmets for Major League Baseball. We sincerely hope they reconsider and keep these jobs here in Caledonia, Minnesota.”