The Los Angeles Dodgers will conduct Christian Faith Day Sunday, with pitching star Clayton Kershaw, several of his teammates and manager Dave Roberts sharing their personal testimonies following the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
Like before every Sunday regular-season game except the last one, the Dodgers will conduct the Viva Los Dodgers family friendly festival, beginning at 11:10 a.m. at Dodger Stadium’s 76 station.
Entertainment will be provided by Hector Guerra and DJ Raul Campos.
Dodger broadcaster Manny Mota, who played for the team from 1969-1980 and in 1982, and former Dodger shortstop, coach and manager Bill Russell will sign autographs for fans.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dean Zarate of Fort Riley, Kansas, a squad leader in the 1st Battalion 18th Infantry Regiment, will be honored as the Military Hero of the Game.
Zarate joined the Army in 2009 and was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009 and 2010. He was deployed to the Horn of Panjawi, Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 2012 and 2013 and just returned from his third deployment at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
Zarate’s awards include four Army Commendation Medals, seven Army Achievement Medals and a NATO Medal.
The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive a No. 19 pin as part of the Retired Numbers Pin Series, honoring the number worn by Jim Gilliam, a Dodger player from 1953-66 and a coach from 1965 until his death on Oct. 8, 1978 from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 49.
Shaun Belway, a grandson of Gilliam, will throw the ceremonial first pitch.
Auto gates will open at 10:40 a.m. and stadium gates at 11:10 a.m. Pregame ceremonies, including the national anthem and ceremonial first pitch will begin at 12:57 p.m., with the game set to start at 1:10 p.m.
— City News Service