LOS ANGELES — It was a night to remember for several members of the LA Galaxy.
On “Galaxy Night” at Dodger Stadium, Galaxy players Bryan Gaul, Hector Jimenez, Sean Franklin, David Junior Lopes, Juninho, AJ DeLaGarza, Rafael Garcia, Bryan Jordan, Dan Keat, Kenney Walker and associate head coach Dave Sarachan threw out the first pitch of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The night ended with a 7-2 Dodgers defeat, but it was a memorable moment for the Galaxy contingent—many of whom are Southern California natives.
“It was fun. We did some things for the fans by signing autographs and then going on the field, meeting Matt Kemp and a few of the other players, it was good times,” said Jordan after the experience. “We announced the game, got our pitches in, I don’t think that I’m a good pitcher at all, but we were teasing A.J. a bit about his wild pitch, but it’s alright. It was fun.”
DeLaGarza’s pitch—which skipped just short of his catcher—was a major point of humor for his Galaxy teammates, but DeLaGarza was more than willingly to joke about his pitch.
READ: DeLaGarza talks about throwing out the first pitch at Dodgers game
“They were set up all wrong so when I threw it, I didn’t want to hit anybody,” DeLaGarza said with a laugh. “So I got scared so I threw it to the ground.”
After the pregame festivities, Jimenez and Garcia were afforded an added treat. The pair was interviewed during the second inning by Dodgers Hall-of-Fame Spanish language radio broadcaster Jamie Jarrin and then the two Galaxy players had their first pitch baseballs autographed by Dodgers pitching legend Fernando Valenzuela.
“If you had told me when I was little that I was going to have an interview [with Jarrin] and have a baseball signed by Fernando Valenzuela, I wouldn’t have believed you,’ said Garcia. “My dad’s a big fan of his and getting this ball signed by Valenzuela is going to make his year. It’s been a great day, we got to see Magic [Johnson], [Tommy] Lasorda, [Matt] Kemp and to top it off with Valenzuela, it’s been a great day.”
Following the event all admitted that it was an exciting experience.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Jimenez. “When I was growing up, I was a big Galaxy fan and a big L.A. Dodger fan. Being able to throw out the first pitch with my teammates and meet Fernando Valenzuela, it was unbelievable.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider
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