Dodgers Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month Presented by Sports Authority

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Dodgers will celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, presented by Sports Authority, an annual commemoration celebrated September 15 - October 15, starting tomorrow on Mexican Independence Day when the Dodgers take on the Rockies at 7:10 p.m. The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive a Fernando Valenzuela bobblehead presented by State Farm (photo attached).

Fans are invited to arrive early for a special musical performance by Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellar at approximately 6:40 p.m. To commemorate Mexican Independence Day the national anthem of Mexico will be performed by "Jane the Virgin" star and singer Jaime Camil, a native of Mexico City. The national anthem of the U.S. will also be performed by Camil. Members of the Valenzuela family will officially start the game with "It's Time for Dodger Baseball!" The Dodgers will also be joined by legendary Mexican rock band Maná. The rockers from Guadalajara, Jalisco, will join Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) President Fidel Vargas Sr. in celebrating HSF's 40th birthday. Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles Carlos M. Sada will also be on hand.

The Dodgers will also join Major League Baseball in celebrating Roberto Clemente Day tomorrow. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Dodgers will recognize their 2015 Roberto Clemente Award nominee Adrian Gonzalez prior to the game. Each year, in honor of the late Hall of Famer and humanitarian, MLB bestows the Roberto Clemente Award to recognize the player who best represents the game of Baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Gonzalez is one of 30 Club nominees eligible to win the league-wide Roberto Clemente Award. Fan voting and a special selection committee will determine the winner, who will be announced at the World Series. Fans can vote for Gonzalez at www.chevybaseball.com.

Valenzuela will join the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) in the Florence-Firestone community of South Los Angeles Saturday. He will be on hand for the dedication of the 39^th Dodger Dreamfield at Mary M. Bethune Park in Los Angeles. Youngsters in attendance will meet, take photos with and receive autographs from the Dodger broadcaster following the opening program.

Through September, music played in-stadium will incorporate songs reflective of current Latino Dodgers - music from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela. Live music in the right and left-field and right-field plazas will also feature Latin American music on the weekend game dates through the end of the regular season in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. In-game "Legends" videos will include tributes to Latino Dodger greats including a new feature saluting Hall of Famer Jaime Jarrín. The Dodgers will also offer fans 20 percent off Latino Dodger player T-shirts that feature the name and number of Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig for the remainder of the regular season at the official team store at the Top of the Park.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, the Dodgers are offering fans a special event ticket package that includes a ticket to the game Saturday, October 3 (6:10 p.m. vs. San Diego) and access to La Gran Fiesta Viva Los Dodgers. Additionally, fans that purchase this ticket package will receive a limited-edition Adrian Gonzalez/Hispanic Heritage T-shirt (image attached) which was chosen by Gonzalez. It features "Los Dodgers" on the front and Gonzalez and number 23 on the back. It is green, red and white, the colors of the Mexican flag, in honor of Gonzalez's Mexican heritage. The Dodgers' Hispanic Heritage ticket package, which includes the Gonzalez T-shirt, can be purchased by visiting www.dodgers.com/Latino.

The Dodgers will play host to two Viva Los Dodgers celebrations during Hispanic Heritage month: Sunday, September 20 (1:10 p.m. vs. PIT), and the Dodgers 18^th annual Hispanic Heritage celebration, La Gran Fiesta Viva Los Dodgers presented by Coca-Cola, State Farm and Time Warner Cable, Saturday, October 3 (6:10 p.m. vs. SD). La Gran Fiesta Viva Los Dodgers is the culmination of the season-long series of family-friendly events celebrating Latino culture in Los Angeles and the legacy of Latino Dodgers past and present. Both events feature live music and autographs with Dodger alumni. La Gran Fiesta Viva Los Dodgers will include participation by current Dodger players and the Dodgers' Spanish-language broadcast team.

This Sunday, as part of Viva Los Dodgers, two-time Presidential Award Recipient and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta will receive the Community Hero Award. In addition, Huerta will be on hand to throw the ceremonial first pitch. One of the most celebrated Latinas in the U.S., Huerta has dedicated 60 years of work toward advocacy for social justice and civil rights. A pregame recognition for 10 Dolores Huerta Foundation Scholars will also take place pregame.

Gonzalez will play host to his last two groups of the season through his Viva Los Dodgers program on September 20 and October 3. The Gonzalez family plays host to 72 fans per Sunday home game (18 families of four) and provides one parking pass per each group of four throughout the 2015 season and has done so since 2013. Tickets in the All-You-Can-Eat right-field pavilion are provided and include unlimited Dodger dogs, nachos, popcorn, peanuts and Coca-Cola products.

The Dodgers will present two special Twitter chats during Hispanic Heritage Month, one in English via @dodgers with Adrian Gonzalez on September 22 and one in Spanish via @losdodgers with Fernando Valenzuela on September 29. Fans that follow the Dodgers' Spanish-language Twitter handle @losdodgers this month will also have the chance to win autographed Adrian Gonzalez T-shirts. Complete details will be announced via @dodgers.

The Dodgers' current roster includes several Latin American-born players - Luis Avilan (Caracas, Venezuela), Pedro Baez (Bani, Dominican Republic), Carlos Frias (Nagua, Dominican Republic), Yimi Garcia (Moca, Dominican Republic), Yasmani Grandal (Havana, Cuba), Alex Guerrero (Las Tunas, Cuba), Enrique Hernandez (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Juan Nicasio (San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic), Jose Peraza (Barinas, Venezuela), Yasiel Puig (Cienfuegos, Cuba) and Ronald Torreyes (Libertador de Barinas, Venezuela).

The Dodgers have played a major role historically in player development in Latin America and continue to commit substantial resources in Latin American player signings. The club signed 25 international prospects in 2014 including three from Cuba, six from the Dominican Republic, one from Mexico, two from Nicaragua, one from Panama and six from Venezuela. This year to date, the Dodgers have signed 26 international prospects including one from Colombia, three from Cuba, 10 from the Dominican Republic, three from Mexico, one from Nicaragua and six from Venezuela. 

The Dodgers were the first MLB club to implement a Spanish-language radio broadcast in 1958, which is now the longest running in all of baseball. Broadcasters Jaime Jarrín and Jorge Jarrín can be heard on Univision America 1020 KTNQ. The team broadcasts the Dodgers' 162 regular season games, select Spring Training games and all potential postseason games. Dodger broadcasters Fernando Valenzuela and Pepe Yñiguez are in there first season on TV and broadcast all Dodger games in Spanish on SportsNet LA, the home of all local Dodger game telecasts. Emmy-award winning broadcaster Diana Alvarado provides pregame interviews with Dodger players and coaches. Spanish-language Dodger game telecasts in high definition are available for Time Warner Cable customers on channel 324. Bright House Networks customers can watch SportNet LA on channel 1107 in high definition and the live Spanish-language game offerings for Bright House Networks customers is available on channel 632.

Fifty-four percent of Dodger fans are Latino and each season the Dodgers play host to approximately two million Latino fans. The Dodgers currently rank second in web traffic among MLB teams with Spanish-language web sites and third among MLB teams with a Spanish-speaking registered user base. The Dodgers' official Spanish-language web site is www.losdodgers.com and the club's official Spanish-language Twitter handle is @losdodgers.

Complete details on LADF's Dreamfield dedication and La Gran Fiesta Viva Los Dodgers will be announced at a later date. Tickets to games through October 4 can be purchased by calling 866-DODGERS or by visiting www.dodgers.com/tickets. For more information on Viva Los Dodgers, the Dodgers' season-long Latino heritage celebration, please visit www.dodgers.com/viva or www.losdodgers.com/viva.For questions on the Dodgers' commemoration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, please contact the Dodgers' Public Relations department by replying to this email or calling (323) 224-1301.