San Jose Churros win 2024 Copa de la Diversión
Minor League Baseball announced the San Jose Churros (San Jose Giants) were selected as the 2024 winner of MiLB’s season-long event series, Copa de la Diversión™.
The award, presented by Nationwide, was announced during Minor League Baseball’s Fall Business Summit Awards Reception in Charlotte on Tuesday. As a proud partner of Copa de la Diversión, Nationwide also provided the Churros/Giants with a $8,000 donation to further amplify initiatives in the San Jose community. As the Official Insurance Partner of Minor League Baseball and Copa de la Diversión since 2020, Nationwide has reinforced its commitment through this annual donation to the winner.
The cornerstone of MiLB’s Latina/o fan engagement initiative, Copa de la Diversión (Copa) established an innovative new platform authentically connecting MiLB teams with their diverse communities, embracing the culture and values that resonate most with U.S. Latinos nationwide. A total of 98 MiLB teams participated in Copa in 2024 -- the most in the program’s seven seasons.
In their five games as the Churros, the club saw a 11.4% increase in attendance over non-Churros games and their six bilingual staff members helped the Churros add nearly 800 new Latino fans to the club’s sales and marketing database.
The club partnered with the San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for a Cinco de Mayo celebration that saw a section of the ballpark become an activity area for fan interaction, and a jersey auction that night raised nearly $8,000 for various charities in San Jose. In total across the five Churro games, the club raised nearly $27,000 for organizations in and around San Jose. Other organizations that participated in Churro-themed nights included SOMOS Mayfair, Sunday Friends, and Bellarmine/Notre Dame Folklorico.
The local Folklorico dancers provided a new buzz to the ballpark at Churros games with gate entrance and pregame entertainment, while for the first time, the club worked with the California Rodeo Salinas to turn the June 1 Churro game into a co-branded evening with rodeo themed promotions, giveaways, and special guests such as the Rodeo Queen.
A new look for the Churro brand also paid dividends in 2024 as Churros merchandise was a huge hit and even prompted San Francisco Giants closer Camilo Doval to request that his bobblehead depict him in a Churros jersey as opposed to a San Jose Giants jersey. Giants infielder Casey Schmitt also took to social media to declare that the Churros cap was his favorite baseball cap.
“The San Jose Churros are a huge initiative for our staff as it brings a whole new demographic to our ballpark every time we play as the Churros and our fans absolutely love it,” said Giants/Churros General Manager Ben Taylor. “We are honored to be the recipient of this great award and we appreciate Nationwide’s support of the Copa initiative across Minor League Baseball and for their donation to help us expand our efforts in San Jose.”
“Congratulations to the San Jose Churros for their exemplary efforts in celebrating Hispanic culture and community connection through baseball,” said Jim McCoy, associate vice president of Sports Marketing for Nationwide. “On behalf of Nationwide, we’re honored to recognize the Churros’ dedication with a $8,000 donation to further their impact in San Jose’s Hispanic community.”
“We are very proud of the efforts of our 98 clubs that participated in the Copa initiative this year, and particularly San Jose’s commitment to creating a positive and rewarding experience that fans will remember for years to come,” said Casey Brett, Major League Baseball’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. “The Churros continue to expand on their commitment to their Latino fan base, and they are very deserving of this recognition.”
Copa’s other finalists for the 2024 season included the Lansing Locos (Lansing Lugnuts), Las Calaveras de West Michigan (West Michigan Whitecaps), Los Wepas de Worcester (Worcester Red Sox), Mariachis de Nuevo Mexico (Albuquerque Isotopes), Monarcas de Eugene (Eugene Emeralds), Pensacola Pok-Ta-Pok (Pensacola Blue Wahoos), Pointy Boots de Amarillo (Amarillo Sod Poodles), Quesos de Frisco (Frisco RoughRiders) Round Rock Chupacabras (Round Rock Express), Soñadores de Hillsboro (Hillsboro Hops) and the Tumba Vacas de Wichita (Wichita Wind Surge).