Giants Series Starts Friday - Jackie Robinson Day - Pregame Info and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts Friday evening against the San Francisco Giants.  Below are some odds and ends for this upcoming homestand; including several autograph opportunities.  At this time I mainly have detailed Jackie Robinson Day information.  I will update this post with more info for the games on Saturday and Sunday as they arrive.  So, be sure to check back.

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Friday, April 15th at 7:10 PM
LHP Madison Bumgarner vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw
SNLA & MLB Network / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

 
It is Jackie Robinson Day!  This marks the 69th anniversary of the day Jackie broke Baseball's color barrier.  Rachel and Sharon Robinson, the wife and daughter of Jackie Robinson, will be the Dodgers’ guests of honor.  Furthermore, all players will be wearing #42.  Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, the first African-American manager in MLB, will join the Robinsons along with Dodger owner Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Dodger Special Advisor Don Newcombe, Robinson’s Brooklyn Dodger teammate.

Friday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:40 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:10 PM. It is Friday Night Fireworks, so fans will be able to go down onto the field after the game to watch the spectacle. The night's theme will be Jackie Robinson.  Go here for more information on Friday Night Fireworks.

The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive an adult replica Jackie Robinson Jersey.  See it on the left.  Jackie Robinson Day jeweled bases and lineup cards will also be a part of tomorrow’s on-field commemoration.

DJ Adam will provide musical entertainment tomorrow in the right-field plaza from and a balloon artist and face painter will be on hand in the left-field plaza from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Civil rights icon, publisher and real estate entrepreneur Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. to throw the ceremonial first pitch.

A special pregame ceremony will include Rachel and Sharon, 11 Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars and Alumni and previous regional winners of the Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life essay contest, which is run by MLB, Scholastic and Sharon Robinson.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Navy Petty Officer Damon J. Maddox of San Pedro. Maddox is a Los Angeles native, graduate of Compton High School and lifelong Dodger fan. He has served in the U.S. Navy for 18 years, including two deployments to the Persian Gulf. 
• John Muir High School baseball and softball teams will be in attendance courtesy of the Dodgers’ Kids 4 Dodgers Baseball program. 
• The Dodgers will also play host to Crenshaw High School’s baseball and softball teams from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Dodger Stadium, for a screening of the Ken Burns’ PBS documentary “Jackie Robinson.” Following the film screening, Dodger historian Mark Langill and Dodger alumnus Tommy Davis will lead a Q&A session. 
• One number ‘42’ jersey will be signed by each member of every Club and auctioned-off on MLB.com (www.MLB.com/42jersey), with the proceeds benefitting the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The auction will be LIVE on Friday, April 15. 
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) conducts silent auctions throughout the season featuring signed pieces of memorabilia from Dodger players, coaches and alumni. Auctions will take place behind the Vin Scully press box on the club level. The items up for auction on tomorrow include a Joc Pederson autographed jersey, Kenta Maeda autographed baseball and Yasiel Puig autographed photo. 

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Saturday, April 16th at 6:10 PM
RHP Johnny Cueto vs. LHP Scott Kazmir
SNLA / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Saturday's game starts at 6:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 3:40 PM, and stadium gates open at 4:10 PM.

The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive a Dodgers knit cap.  See it on the left.

UFC fighter and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Paige Vanzant will throw the ceremonial first pitch and R&B singer Goapele will perform the national anthem. Everett Coast Band will be in the left-field reserve, Trip Band in the right-field reserve, DJ Adam in the right-field plaza and a balloon artist and face painter in the left-field plaza from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Friend of Irvine. Friend served in the U.S. Army, Army Air Corps and was a Tuskegee Airmen Red Tail Pilot. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1920 and earned a private pilot’s license in 1940. At that time, the U.S. Army was not accepting applications for military flight training for non-whites. However, at the insistence of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and others, a program was established in Tuskegee, Alabama, to help African-Americans learn to fly U.S. Army aircraft. Friend applied in 1942 and was accepted as an air cadet in the program.  After receiving his wings as a military pilot, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant then assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group stationed in the European Theatre of Operations, where he became the primary wing-man to Col. Benjamin O. Davis, the great U.S. Air Force general and commander of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII. Friend flew P-51s for nearly two years until the end of the war. He later earned a degree in astrophysics. After retiring from the Air Force, Friend became the assistant to the president at Fairchild Stratus Companies in Manhattan Beach, overseeing the design and production of space-shuttle products. He is currently executive vice president for the Stanford Mu Corporation, which produces primary space components for the International Space Station. In his spare time, he competes in national bridge tournaments.

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Sunday, April 17th at 5:05 PM
RHP Jeff Samardzija vs. RHP Kenta Maeda

ESPN /AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Sunday's game starts at 5:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 2:35 PM, and stadium gates open at 3:05 PM.

This is the first Viva Los Dodgers event of the season.  Held in Lot 6 and two hours prior to each Sunday home game (3:05 PM), fans can enjoy live music, player autographs and various activities. Entrance is free with a paid ticket to the game.  Scheduled to appear are former Dodgers Dennis Powell and Tommy Davis to sign autographs.  Also, Adrian Gonzalez will make a special appearance from approximately 3:15 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for a chance to take a photo with Gonzalez. Blue Prints will provide one complimentary photo per family or group. Musical entertainment will be provided by Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez and Los 5.  Go here for further information.

Los 5 will also present a pregame concert on top of the Dodger dugout. The band was chosen by Unified WBA/IBF middleweight world champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who will throw Sunday’s ceremonial first pitch.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Army Reserve Sergeant Gerald Reed of Bell. Reed has served for 11 years and is currently stationed in Bell as an AGR Soldier supporting the 349th Combat Support Hospital. Reed recently reenlisted for another six years and has been assigned multiple units including the 416th Engineering Company, the 367th MP Company, and the 377th MP who he supported during their deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 
• Jackie Robinson Breaking Barriers essay contest-winner Precious Rodriguez along with 60 of her classmates from Southridge Middle School in Fontana will be in attendance Sunday, April 17, also courtesy of the Kids 4 Dodgers Baseball program. 
• The Dodgers will also present a Community Hero Award to Lucia Diaz, CEO of the Mar Vista Community Center at Viva Los Dodgers. Diaz has organized community clean ups, youth and parent conferences and community events through the west side of Los Angeles.   
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) conducts silent auctions throughout the season featuring signed pieces of memorabilia from Dodger players, coaches and alumni. Auctions will take place behind the Vin Scully press box on the club level. The items up for auction Sunday include an Andre Ethier autographed jersey, Dave Roberts autographed baseball and Yasmani Grandal autographed photo. 

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