The Charleston RiverDogs announced that they will take the field as the ‘Perros Santos de Charleston’ for four home games at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park – June 8-9, July 11 + Aug. 6.
Why the name change? It’s part of Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión program (i.e. “Fun Cup”) – which focuses on embracing the culture and values of Hispanic/LatinX communities (who make up 2.9% of the Charleston population).
And the RiverDogs aren’t the only MiLB team doing this. 72 teams will change their name + logo for multiple games – including the Energía de Greenville + Chicharrones de Columbia. In total, 397 Copa de la Diversión games will be played across Minor League Baseball in 2019.
The initiative goes far beyond just a name change, too. For those four games, the RiverDogs will sport a brand new uniform featuring the Perros Santos logo + Día de los Muertos colors, that you can also wear – because Perros Santos merchandise is already available for purchase – both online and at the RiverDogs Official Store at The Joe.
Additionally, the RiverDogs are teaming up with MUSC Health and the Berkeley County School District to launch a joint literacy program called ‘Festival de Lectura.’ Students from Hanahan Elementary, Goose Creek Elementary, College Park Elementary and Mt. Holly Elementary will be rewarded for meeting reading goals through the seven-week, baseball-themed program. Talk about making learning súper diversión (super fun).
To complement the reading program, the RiverDogs will host Spanish-speaking youth baseball players from around the Lowcountry for a Spanish-language focused youth baseball clinic at The Joe.
The RiverDogs plan to make each game a fiesta with a series of events – including a post-game piñata party (June 8), a meet-and-greet with Dora the Explorer (June 9), and a stadium-wide game of “UNO” (July 11).
And one last thing… if you can’t make it out to the ballpark, you can catch a Spanish-language play-by-play broadcast on La Raza, 103.9 FM.
Buy tickets to the Copa de la Diversión games here. Pro tip: find exclusive ticket offers here. ⚾