LOS ANGELES - "Please welcome the Consul General of the Philippines, the Honorable Mary Jo Bernardo-Aragon, who is the first Filipino woman Consul General ever assigned in the great city of Los Angeles," a booming voice announced through the Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium loudspeakers.

On the baseball field, Consul General Mary Jo Bernardo-Aragon and Department of Tourism’s Christine “Ging” Dy were making history as the first women ever to throw and catch a first pitch in a pre-game ceremony between two major league baseball teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, on Sunday, July 1.“It was quite nerve-wracking,” Mrs. Aragon said after making the historic pitch, which Ms. Dy caught with her gloved left hand. Ms. Dy did not have time to practice catching a baseball, having been informed of the assignment on Sunday morning. “This was my first time to ever catch a baseball, and I have never played the game. I was not really ready,” said the DOT administrative officer.

The ceremonial pitch took all of five seconds. Mrs. Aragon tossed the baseball, rather than pitched it. It made an upward arc then descended in the direction of Ms. Dy. She caught the ball. It was not a prettiest of maneuvers, but both women kept their composure, beaming and waving to the crowd after pitch.

Mrs. Aragon, a seasoned extemporaneous speaker, did not speak to approximately 40,000 baseball cognoscenti who were roasting under a 90-degree noontime heat. It was the stadium announcer who delivered the message for her. “In behalf of the one-million Filipino-Americans in Southern California, I want to welcome all of you to the Second Annual Filipino-American Community Event,” the announcer boomed.

“This afternoon marks the second year of the revival of baseball among Filipino-Americans and the Filipino people who learned baseball from American soldiers as early as 1899,” the event announcer continued. “Let us thank the Los Angeles Dodgers for inviting Filipino diplomats, community and business leaders, media representatives, and especially all of you who remind us that living in Los Angeles is like playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers; we are all part of the same team. We may come from various ethnic backgrounds, we may work at different positions, but at the end of the day, we all bleed Dodger blue.” With that, the Dodger faithful roared in agreement. The home team beat the visitors.

Bobby Reyes, a community leader and journalist who founded the Los Angeles Media Breakfast Club years ago, organized the first Filipino-American Community Night on July 24, 2006. Then Consul General Willy Gaa threw the ceremonial pitch. Encouraged by its success as a vehicle to shine the klieg lights on a million Filipinos living in Southern California and to support Filipino charities, Reyes went forward with this second “Dodger Fil-Am Community Night.” Proceeds from Sunday’s game would go to Gawad Kalinga, the Philippines’ equivalent of Habitat for Humanity.

“This would also raise awareness about baseball and the spirit that it represents, including sportsmanship,” noted Mrs. Aragon. “This event will also help focus awareness to the fact that we are the second largest ethnic community in Southern California,” Mrs. Aragon added.

The event was supported by the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County, Filipino-American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA), the Los Angeles County Filipino-American Employees Association, the US-Philippines Expo and the New York Life Insurance Company.

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