Realtor.com® Teams Up with the Wives of Top Major League Baseball Players Ahead of Trading Deadline to Highlight Tips for Moving

Ahead of Major League Baseball's July 31 trade deadline, Julianna Zobrist, Leslee Holliday and Jennifer Utley – the wives of Chicago Cubs' second basemen Ben Zobrist, New York Yankees' designated hitter Matt Holliday, and Los Angeles Dodgers' second baseman Chase Utley, respectively – share what home means to them and how realtor.com^® has helped them find their dream homes for their families when the clock is ticking.

The new brand partnership includes a broadcast and digital video series as well as social integrations. In the videos, Zobrist, Holliday, and Utley highlight a few of their personal house hunting tips, including the use of 3D tours, search filters and the realtor.com® draw feature.

Holliday explained that over her husband's 14-year professional baseball career, they have lived in 11 homes in four different cities, most recently moving again when Matt signed with the Yankees in December.  "Living in Florida, you have to find a home in New York for you and your family," Holliday said.  "It was just really inconvenient for us to fly up to New York City and walk through every single home we saw. 3-D tours allowed us to make a decision from home which is very, very convenient."

Utley has lived in 12 homes since her husband broke into the big leagues in 2003.  "Moving doesn't scare me," she said. "I realize that moving is fun and can be a game if you want it to be.  I'm always watching the market.  The whole process is my happy place. I'm very particular about my home and I have a lot of experience and I've definitely curated my want list. Using filters are really very easy. I can pinpoint exactly what I want in a house with the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, pool, no pool, yard, what neighborhood I'm in, what schools I want. Realtor.com is the one-stop shop for finding your perfect house.

Zobrist and her husband moved 10 times in 10 years before finally purchasing their first home in Chicago.  "When Chicago called it felt like the stars aligned," she said. "We had to move quickly and do it efficiently. We realized that we desired for our kids to be around more children and for us to be closer to the stadium. I totally love the draw search feature because then you are able to pinpoint the area you want to live in."

"Home has important, and different, meaning to everyone. Families of professional athletes often experience sudden moves when traded between teams, providing additional challenges to find the home of their dreams. Finding the Home Run Home showcases what home means to the wives of three MLB players at the top of their game and helps fans understand these families' experiences on a personal level, including some valuable moving tips," said Andrew Strickman, head of brand and chief creative at realtor.com^®. "Our partnership with Home Team Sports highlights realtor.com^®'s dedication to helping every family, even those who live their lives on the move like our favorite baseball players, find their dream home."

One of the highlights of the Home Team Sports program is use of 30-second spots featuring the three wives to surround a two-week realtor.com sponsorship of a trade-deadline inspired "Buyer's and Seller's" segment on the pre-game shows of 19 MLB teams.

The videos are available at realtor.com/welcome/homerunhome

Below are the scheduled release dates for each outlet:

Realtor.com^®'s "Finding the Home Run Home" is a partnership with Home Team Sports, negotiated by Ocean Media LLC, realtor.com media agency of record. Home Team Sports is a sales unit of Fox Sports, featuring branded-content platforms, commercial and program production, events, and custom brand integration in live local sports.

About Home Team Sports
Home Team Sports (HTS) is a sales unit of FOX Sports that offers advertisers one-stop shopping for TV and digital media sponsorship of every MLB, NBA, and NHL home team in the U.S., reaching 90+ million homes with its platforms. HTS also encompasses FOX Sports College Properties which holds the multi-media rights for USC and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Michigan State, Auburn, San Diego State, Georgetown, Villanova and the BIG EAST Conference. HTS also has exclusive media rights in major college conferences and conference-owned television networks, including BTN, Pac-12 Networks, the ACC and Big 12. HTS is a complete sports solution featuring branded-content platforms, commercial and program production, events and custom brand integration in live local sports. All opportunities are available on a local, regional or national scale. HTS representation includes FOX Sports Regional Networks, Comcast Sports Net, ROOT SPORTS, YES, NESN, MASN, Altitude and others. 

About realtor.com^®

Realtor.com^® is the trusted resource for home buyers, sellers and dreamers, offering the most comprehensive source of for-sale properties, among competing national sites, and the information, tools and professional expertise to help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. It pioneered the world of digital real estate 20 years ago, and today helps make all things home simple, efficient and enjoyable. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS^®. For more information, visit realtor.com^®.

Media Contact:

Realtor.com^®
Lexie Puckett Holbert – [email protected]

David Siroty – [email protected]

SOURCE realtor.com

Related Links

http://www.realtor.com/welcome/homerunhome/