The Los Angeles Dodgers recently announced that 1988 World Series hero Kirk Gibson will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium and Gibson bobbleheads depicting the clutch hit will be distributed on March 30.
Part of the reason for that is that the Dodgers and Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) are partnering with the Kirk Gibson Foundation during the opening week of the 2018 season to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s Disease.
It appears the Dodgers are now doing more to support Gibson’s foundation, as they are painting the seat in which Gibson’s historic home run landed blue for the entire 2018 season, and the tickets sold for that seat will support Parkinson’s Disease, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
#Dodgers announce they will be painting seat in RF pavilion blue where Kirk Gibson’s WS HR landed and Gibson will sign it. Part of Parkinson’s fight.
Section 302 Row D Seat 1— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 19, 2018
Seat will be sold for $150 per game with $100 of that going to Gibson’s charity. Gibson said “Every time I walk into the stadium I look for those seats. I personally call it ‘Seat 88.’”
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 19, 2018
Gibson went on to add that he is hoping him throwing out the first pitch on Opening Day will lead to the Dodgers bringing home their first World Series since he hit the historic home run 30 years ago:
Kirk Gibson on #Dodgers 30-year wait for another WS championship: “Hopefuly this is the year and I’ll throw out the first pitch in a championship season . … Maybe they’ll give me a ring.”
Throwing out ceremonial 1st pitch on Opening Day— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 19, 2018
The Dodgers fell just short of that goal in 2017, as they were defeated in Game 7 of the World Series by the Houston Astros.
But they return the same core of players, so 2018 could be the year they end the drought and Gibson will be on-hand all season to watch it happen, even if it is just in the spirit of a painted blue seat to help a great cause.
