L.A. Dodgers to Hold First LGBT Night

The Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team has announced its first LGBT night, to be held September 27, the team announced Friday.

The Dodgers' LGBT Night OUT will feature "a celebrity First Pitch" and "the National Anthem performed by a surprise guest with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles," according to an announcement on the team's website. There will be fireworks after the Friday night game, in which the Dodgers play the Colorado Rockies.

The Los Angeles Times notes that the announcement "never actually explained that LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender," but adds that team officials have obviously come "a long ways from when they kicked out a lesbian couple for kissing at a Dodger Stadium game in 2000."

Dodgers executive Lon Rosen issued a statement saying, "We welcome all fans to Dodger Stadium throughout each season. We are especially proud to welcome and recognize the LGBT community of Los Angeles, an integral part of the city and of the Dodgers community."

Some other Major League Baseball teams, including the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies, have held LGBT events for several years. Also, this year the Seattle Mariners flew a rainbow flag at their stadium the same day as the city's Pride parade, the last Sunday in June.