Clara Gonzales of Los Angeles will be the Los Angeles Dodgers’ honorary bat girl and throw the ceremonial first pitch before today’s game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.
Gonzales was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer last May. She faced unemployment and the lack of health insurance 10 days after her diagnosis. Gonzales received assistance from the breast cancer support organization Susan G. Komen and began chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
The lifelong Dodger fan wore Dodger blue and a Dodger wig during chemotherapy sessions. She regularly attends games despite her illness.
Teams that had home games last Sunday on Mother’s Day honored their honorary bat girls then. The Dodgers played at Colorado last Sunday.
Since 2006, Major League Baseball has dedicated Mother’s Day to the fight against breast cancer. All players and other on-field personnel in all of the Mother’s Day games wear symbolic pink ribbons on their uniforms. Commemorative base jewels and dugout lineup cards were also pink. The baseballs used in the games had pink stitching.
Today’s game is the Dodgers first Yoga Day. Fans purchasing a special ticket package will be allowed to participate in a yoga session conducted by certified instructors from YogaWorks on the field after the game.
The ticket package combines a discounted ticket and a Dodger yoga mat. The ticket package is only available at dodgers.com/yoga.
As with all Sunday home games except the final one, the Dodgers will conduct their Viva Los Dodgers family-friendly festival today. Musical entertainment will be provided by Louie Cruz Beltran and La Sirena y Orquesta Mar de Ashe.
Dodger broadcaster Manny Mota will sign autographs from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Viva Los Dodgers begins at 11 a.m. and is held at Dodger Stadium’s 76 station.
Matt Luke, an outfielder-first baseman with the Dodgers in 1998, will sign autographs in the left field pavilion from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Military Hero of the Game will be Joseph Godges, a Marine Corps private first class during World War II who witnessed the official raising of the U.S. flag over the ruins of the former Marine Corps barracks on Guam on July 29, 1944, after eight days of fighting.
As with most Sunday home games, children 14 and under can run around the bases following the game.
Auto gates will open at 10:40 a.m. and stadium gates at 11:10 a.m. Pregame ceremonies will begin at 12:55 p.m. for the 1:10 p.m. game, the last of a seven-game homestand. The Dodgers will return to Dodger Stadium Friday to begin a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.
