White Sox Baseball Team Honors Pope Leo XIV Giving Away 40,000 Papal-Style Hats and a Nun Throws the 1st Pitch with Donation to Augustinians

Holy Night : White Sox Host Sellout Crowd for Pope Hat Giveaway Night

CHICAGO — If there is one event that captures the electric energy around the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, it was Tuesday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.


In honor of Pope Leo XIV—a Dolton, Illinois native and a devout White Sox fan—the team hosted a stadium-wide Pope Hat giveaway, resulting in a sold-out Rate Field and an unforgettable night at the ballpark.

A Night of Festivities

The pregame and in-game program was packed with Catholic and Chicago-centric highlights:

  • Charitable Giving: White Sox Charities presented a $14,000 donation to the Midwest Augustinian Province, the religious order Pope Leo XIV belonged to while in Chicago.

  • Viral First Pitch: Sister Mary Jo Sobieck of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, who became an internet sensation for her ceremonial pitch in 2018, returned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

  • Ballpark Legends: Iconic organist Nancy Faust performed the National Anthem, while former Sox pitcher Donn "The Pope" Pall announced "Play Ball!"

  • Passing the Peace: During the 5th inning, fans across Rate Field were invited to participate in a ballpark-wide "Peace Be With You" greeting.

The giveaway originally started as a modest ticket-package promotion. White Sox marketing officials initially planned to distribute just 2,500 of the specialty papal-miter-style hats. However, after ticket sales exploded overnight, the organization scaled up the order, preparing over 40,000 hats so every fan entering the gates could take one home. A crowd of 38,113 attended, marking Chicago’s ninth sellout of the season.

Dugout Celebrations

The promotional spirit extended straight into the White Sox dugout. Although several players admitted postgame that they were initially unaware of how massive the giveaway was, they wasted no time joining in the fun.

When Brenton Doyle, Edgar Quero, and Miguel Vargas hit solo home runs, each player celebrated in the dugout by donning the black-and-gold, White Sox-branded Pope Hat.

"We got a pope and we got a wizard. We have a lot of good luck on our side," said designated hitter Colson Montgomery, referencing both the papal theme and pitcher Mike Vasil’s dugout magic wand. "Anything to get the fans excited for all that stuff is fun."

White Sox manager Will Venable echoed the sentiment: "Any time we get to celebrate the pope and his fandom of the White Sox is something that we'll lean into."

Honoring Chicago Roots

The promotion was crafted as a respectful tribute to Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost), who attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series and continues to keep tabs on his favorite team. To ensure the event remained respectful, the club opted for a generic logo-based design on the hats rather than a bobblehead or likeness.

"Obviously we want to be respectful of the position," said Brooks Boyer, White Sox executive vice president. "But the fact that the pope is an identified White Sox fan, we're certainly proud of it... It's a point of pride for the Chicago White Sox and White Sox fans."

Even players without strong religious backgrounds appreciated the unique atmosphere.

"As someone who is not even super religious, it's a cool thing," said White Sox pitcher Erick Fedde. "I have lots of friends who ask, 'Don't you think it's crazy the pope probably knows your name?' It's a really cool thing."

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-have-pope-hat-giveaway-at-rate-field

Collaged Images from the MLBA on X 

Comments

Post a Comment