By Jason Cruz
Northwest Asian Weekly
Fans on the Jumbotron
The Seattle Mariners held a Filipino Heritage Night on Thursday, June 18th at Safeco Field against the San Francisco Giants. Several sections of Safeco Field were dedicated for those honoring Filipino Heritage. In addition, fans that purchased tickets for the night received T-Shirts with the Filipino flag colors.
Sheila Burrus threw out the Group First Pitch on behalf of the Filipino Community of Seattle.
Although the Mariners lost the game 7-0, it was a fun evening at the ball park with great weather.
Notably, Tim Lincecum, who is from Kent, attended the University of Washington, is part Filipino. He did not pitch for the Giants on Thursday as he had pitched against the Mariners on Tuesday of last week.
The television broadcast did a small feature on Bobby Balcena, the first Filipino to play ––in Major League Baseball. Baseball played for the Cincinnati Redlegs (now known as Reds) in 1956. Prior to that Balcena played for the Triple A minor league Seattle Rainiers in the 1950s. Balcena passed away at the age of 64 in 1990.
$4 from each ticket purchased from the Filipino Heritage Night promotion would benefit the Filipino Community of Seattle according to the Mariners. (end)