Dodgers will join SF Giants in wearing LGBTQ+ Pride hats during MLB game
The Giants were the first MLB team to wear LGBTQ+ Pride logos on the field, putting them on their hats and jersey sleeves for a game last year.
Now there’s a second team doing so. And it’s setting up a rivalry game unlike any other next month.
The Dodgers unveiled their own LGBTQ+ Pride hats on Monday and announced plans to wear them twice, including at Oracle Park on June 11 on the previously scheduled Pride Night in San Francisco.
With the Giants having already planned to wear the 11-color Progress Pride Flag-inspired logos on that night, it will make June 11 the first MLB game — and possibly the first major professional male sporting event in the U.S. — where both teams are wearing LGBTQ+ Pride logos.
The Giants first wore the 11 colors that honor LGBT, transgender and marginalized communities of color in a nationally televised game on June 5, 2021 against the Cubs. In addition to the hats and jersey logos, some Giants players wore extra pride-colored gear, like Evan Longoria donning a pride armband.
“I think it’s an exciting moment for our team, for our organization,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said before that day’s game. “I’m very proud of our group for publicly supporting the LGBTQ+ community. It’s an important step and we’re all standing behind the community.”
The Dodgers will first wear their new pride logo on June 3 in a home game against the Mets. In the press release unveiling the hats, Dodgers president Stan Kasten made note of the significance of the June 11 game against their longtime rival.
For the first time ever, the Dodgers will be wearing custom on-field pride caps at Dodger Stadium on June 3 for LGBTQ+ Night. Then on June 11, the Dodgers and Giants will make history when they both take the field at Oracle Park wearing their respective team’s pride caps. pic.twitter.com/BUv06iqJGh
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 9, 2022
“The Los Angeles Dodgers are proud to stand with and recognize the LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles and globally,” Kasten said. “The Dodgers have a history of breaking barriers and we’re proud to be a part of another chapter in MLB history as the Dodgers and Giants each wear their team’s pride caps on June 11. While our organizations have a long-storied rivalry on the field, we stand together when it comes to equality for all.”
Fans WHO purchase the Pride Night special ticket from the Giants for the June 11 game will also get socks with the 11 colors of the Progress Pride flag and a Giants logo.
Surely, the matchup — only the second game they’ll have played in San Francisco this year after 2021’s season-long pennant race — will be divisive on the field and for fans in the stands.
But aesthetically, the teams will be coming together for a common cause. And their logos will show it.