Third Annual Filipino Heritage at the Dodger Stadium Scheduled for June 17 on Friday Night Fireworks Night Presented by Pizza Hut

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers will host a Filipino Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium for the third consecutive season on Friday Night Fireworks Night presented by Pizza Hut, June 17 (vs. HOU at 7:10 p.m.). The pre-game show starts at 6:30 p.m. Filipino Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium will include pregame ceremonies. Filipino Community leaders will throw out the first pitch and sing the National Anthem. Tickets purchased for this event includes a limited edition Filipino Heritage Night t-shirt. Last season, the Dodgers’ “My Town: Philippines” event sold out.

The event is the Dodgers’ way of remembering Filipinos who played professional baseball in the United States. Right-handed pitcher Bobby Chouinard is the only MLB player born in the Philippines. The reliever was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 5th round of the 1990 MLB amateur draft and made his Major League debut with the Oakland Athletics on May 26, 1996. While Chouinard is the only player born in the Philippines, three other players of Filipino heritage have played in the Major Leagues: Bobby Balcena (1956 Cincinnati Reds), Benny Agbayani (1998-2001 New York Mets, 2002 Colorado Rockies, 2002 Boston Red Sox), and Chris Aguila (2004-2006 Florida Marlins, 2008 New York Mets). Shane Victorino (2003 San Diego Padres, 2005 – present Philadelphia Phillies) is half Filipino. Two other Pacific Islanders have played in the Major Leagues: John Hatting from Guam (2006 Toronto Blue Jays) and Tom Mastny from Indonesia (2006-2008 Cleveland Indians).

Cy Young Award multiple winner Timothy “The Freak” Leroy Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants is half Filipino. More details about Tim Lincecum can be read at this article written by our Chicago-based columnist, Joseph G. Lariosa: Filipino-American Pitcher Excels in World Series

Discounted tickets for Filipino Heritage Night are available at www.dodgers.com/filipino and each ticket includes the Filipino Heritage Night T-Shirt accessible only via online purchase. Community groups of 30 or more can contact a group sales representative at (323) 224-2630 for priority seating, to secure limited edition t-shirts and for a complimentary scoreboard message.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, pioneers in sport and world culture, have won more games, more pennants, and more World Series than any other club in the National League since moving to Los Angeles.  Since the start of the modern era in baseball, the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles, combined, have a cumulative attendance of more than 188 million, the highest total in the history of baseball or any other sport.

Visit the Dodgers on the Internet at www.dodgers.com.

For media information, visit www.dodgerspressbox.com.

(Data about the Filipino Heritage Night courtesy of the Dodgers Public Relations Department.) # # #