DURHAM, N.C. -- With the close of the "second inning" last week of its "9 Innings of Summer" Twitter giveaway, USA Baseball (@USABaseball) had seen its number of followers jump by more than 1,110 -- a 56% increase from its total prior to the start of the giveaway. @USABaseball began the promotion with 2,114 followers, and closed the second inning last Wednesday with 3,300. The federation currently stands at 3,493 followers.

The promotion gives away one autographed, game-used or limited edition piece of USA Baseball memorabilia each day for 90 business days (Monday-Friday). Each "inning" consists of 10 business days (two weeks). The promotion began on June 22, 2011, which was the first day of the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars presented by Major League Baseball, and ends on Oct. 25, 2011, the last day of the Pan American Games, to which the U.S. will send a team comprised of non-40-man roster professional players.

The first two "innings" saw autographed and game-used memorabilia from several big name alums given away to followers. A Bryce Harper autographed bat from the 2010 Golden Spikes Award kicked-off the promotion, and it was followed by items from Clayton Kershaw, Pedro Alvarez, Brett Anderson, Freddie Freeman, Rickie Weeks and memorabilia signed "live" by the three finalists of the 2011 Golden Spikes Award. Harper and Kershaw's items were among the favorites from the first two innings, as each recorded over 70 retweets in a matter of minutes, while the 2011 Golden Spikes Award signed bat garnered over 100 retweets and was awarded shortly before the Golden Spikes Award trophy itself was presented to UCLA's Trevor Bauer.

The giveaway promotion has been featured on ESPN.com and by Baseball America writers, contests have been retweeted by USA Baseball alums, and it is highlighted on the cover of the upcoming Beckett Baseball Monthly magazine. Additionally, during last Friday's contest, USA Baseball owned the top five spots in Durham on Trendsmap.com.

Now into its third inning, USA Baseball is set to give away another item today, Monday, before 4 p.m. ET, and the federation encourages its fans to follow the action on Twitter using the hashtag: "#USAB9Innings". Over the next three months items from Harper, Mike Trout, Troy Tulowitzki, Mark Teixeira, Ryan Zimmerman, and many more will be given away as part of the promotion.

For details and rules on the Twitter giveaway, please click here.