The Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) will take part of a nation-wide effort to recognize the Hispanic community, starting tonight. The national event will cover 165 MiLB games throughout the 2018 season.  The first game was at Round Rock, Texas on April 8^th.  The last game will be at Rancho Cucamonga on September 2^nd.  The Durham Bulls rebranded as the Durham Toros on June 1st.  The Omaha Storm Chasers became the Cazadores de Tormentas on June 7th.  In all, 33 teams will participate.

Instead of “Hillsboro Hops”, the home team will wear uniforms emblazened “Los Lupulos de Hillsboro”.  In addition, matching hats will be worn on field.  The name is a direct translation of the team’s English name.

The effort is important because “the name recognizes Hillsboro’s proud agricultural heritage.” according to Brian Berger of the Hillsboro Hops.  “And the fact that Oregon is the second-largest, hop-producing state in the U.S., in addition to being a term regularly used in baseball.”

In this case, the “Los Lupulos de Hillsboro will appear on Monday nights.  As a result, the dates will be tonight, June 25^th, July 12^th, August 22^nd and September 1^st.  All five Monday night games will show the Hispanic community’s role in the game of baseball. Tonight’s game will feature the Southern Division leading Salem-Keizer Volcanoes as the rubber match of a three game series.  SK won the first game 9-5. You can read the recap here.   Hillsboro or Los Lupulos de la Hillsboro, won the second game 12-2, setting up the rubber game.

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“The fact that the Hispanic demographic in our area is nearly 25%, combined with the substantial number of Latino players we have on our roster each year, we wanted to celebrate our connection with the Latino community over more than just one night,” said Hops President K.L. Wombacher. “It is important to us that this comprehensive effort comes off as genuine and authentic in expanding the diversity of our fan base to reflect that of our community.”

Above all, it brings the community closer together.

Finally, fans can buy tickets to the Los Lupulos de Hillsboro games at the box office or online.

Replica jerseys and caps are available through the Hops merchandise store at the park or online at the Hops Store.

By

Greg Stoker

@GDStoker