Baseball Heritage: Part 1 (the Big Four: German, Hispanic, Irish, and Italian)

One thing I love about minor league baseball is the teams’ creative ideas for promotions. Recently, Major League teams have followed suit by having similar promotions. The ones that caught my attention this year are those that I call “Heritage Nights.” This year, you can celebrate everything from Black Heritage to Slovenian Heritage at ballparks across the country.

Sociologists just love this kind of thing – especially the Baseball Sociologist! Someday I will analyze this more carefully, but for now I’ll just give you a rundown of the many heritages you can celebrate. For starters, the Omaha Storm Chasers held a generic-sounding “Heritage Night” on April 18. Its unclear which heritage(s?) they may have been celebrating, though it did include a pre-game parade featuring the St. Lucia Group (whoever they are) and a pre-game performance by a local Native American group. In addition, the Quad Cities River Bandits are holding “Global Cultural Night” on August 15, though they don’t explain what that entails. Maybe these celebrations are designed to celebrate everything.

Other teams are hosting celebrations that I’m not convinced are necessarily celebrating any sort of heritage. This include the many, many teams that are having Cinco de Mayo celebrations (though not all on May 5, or even in May), St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and Mardi Gras celebrations (such as “Halfway to Mardi Gras” night at the New Orleans Zephyrs on August 14 and “Mardi Gras Night” hosted by the Modesto Nuts on August 29).  Of course, if you don’t want to profess any sort of heritage other than “American,” you can go to “American Heritage Night” on July 2 at the Wilmington Blue Rocks. (Which, I’m guessing, is likely related to 4^th of July celebrations at several other ballparks.)

Today, I’m giving you the dates for the top 4 groups – those that them most teams are celebrating: German Heritage (also includes Oktoberfest), Hispanic Heritage (or Latino or Latin American Heritage), Irish Heritage (not including St. Patrick’s Day celebrations), and Italian Heritage.

Enjoy celebrating everyone’s heritage!

~ baseballrebecca

German Heritage and/or Oktoberfest:

4/24      Charlotte Knights (AAA)

6/16      Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA)

8/7        Akron RubberDucks (AA)

8/13      Wilmington Blue Rocks (A)

8/28      Tulsa Drillers (AA)

8/29      Tri-City ValleyCats (A)

9/6        Cincinnati Reds

9/19      Los Angeles Angels

9/19      Tampa Bay Rays

9/20      Oakland A’s

9/25      San Francisco Giants

9/26      Arizona Diamondbacks

9/27      Seattle Mariners

 

Hispanic/Latino/Latin American Heritage:

5/4        Round Rock Express (AAA)

5/5        San Jose Giants (A) (this is “Mexican Heritage Night”)

5/22      Fresno Grizzlies (AAA)

6/14      Kannapolis Intimidators (A)

7/10      Charlotte (AAA)

7/18      Great Lakees Loons (A)

7/23      Buffalo Bisons (AAA)

7/27      Toledo Mud Hens (AAA)

7/31      Toledo Mud Hens (AAA)

8/3        Charleston Riverdogs (A)

8/14      Texas Rangers

8/27      Syracuse Chiefs (AAA)

8/27      Wilmington Blue Rocks (A)

9/7        Cincinnati Reds

9/13      Seattle Mariners

9/13      San Francisco Giants

9/20      Houston Astros

9/23      Washington Nationals

9/26      Chicago White Sox

 

Irish Heritage:

4/24      Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA)

4/30      San Francisco Giants

5/4        Charleston Riverdogs (A)

5/7        Quad Cities River Bandits (A)

5/17      Reading Fightin Phils (AA)

5/19      Memphis Redbirds (AAA)

6/4        Wilmington Blue Rocks (A)

6/12      Akron RubberDucks (AA)

6/24      Buffalo Bisons (AAA)

6/26      Charlotte Knights (AAA)

7/17      South Bend Silver Hawks (A)

7/18      Columbus Clippers (AAA)

7/23      Peoria Chiefs (A)

7/31      Brooklyn Cyclones (A)

7/31      West Michigan Whitecaps (A)

8/7        Trenton Thunder (AA)

8/9        Lakewood BlueClaws (A)

8/12      Tri-City ValleyCats (A)

8/14      Charlotte Stone Crabs (A)

8/23      Lake County Captains (A)

8/27      San Francisco Giants

9/5        Cincinnati Reds

 

Italian Heritage:

5/14      Wilmington Blue Rocks (A)

6/24      San Francisco Giants

7/5        Hudson Valley Renegades (A) (this is “Sicilian Saturday” to be exact)

7/10      Charlotte Knights (AAA)

7/11      Lake County Captains (A)

7/18      Chicago White Sox

8/1        Tri-City ValleyCats (A)

8/1        Oakland A’s

8/2        San Jose Giants (A)