A's to honor memory of Sgt. Scott Lunger with ceremony on Law Enforcement Day
Recently, Hayward Police Department Sgt. Scott Lunger was killed in a routine traffic stop in the Bay Area. The tragedy prompted some to ask the Oakland Athletics to honor him in some way, as Lunger was a devoted A's fan.
On Wednesday, the team announced plans to pay tribute to Lunger with a pregame ceremony on Sunday, August 9 as part of the club's Law Enforcement Day. Prior to first pitch between the A's and the Houston Astros, there will be an on-field police motorcade, A's players' girlfriends and wives will present the Lunger family with gifts, and his father and two daughters will throw out the ceremonial first pitches. A's icon Rickey Henderson - Lunger's favorite player - will catch the pitch from Lunger's father Paul.
On Law Enforcement Day this Sunday, August 9, the A’s will honor the memory of Sgt. Lunger during pregame ceremonies. pic.twitter.com/Ul8H9gCwEA
— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) August 5, 2015
As per the team's issued press release, here are some additional notes regarding the plans for the afternoon:
· A’s players will wear special Hayward Police Department hats during batting practice. These hats will be sold during the game’s silent auction (behind Section 120), with proceeds benefitting the Hayward Police Association.
· The Tri-Valley A’s—Sgt. Lunger’s men’s league baseball team—will join the A’s on the field during the national anthem.
· The A’s will hang a LUNGER jersey—with #106, his badge number, on the back—in the dugout during the game.
The honoring of Sgt. Lunger won't be limited to Sunday afternoon, however: at a game this week in Oakland, pitcher Sean Doolittle and his girlfriend Eireann Dolan took part in an event encouraging fans to write letters of support and well-wishes to the Lunger family, as well as the Hayward Police Department. Here are some images from that event as a preview of Sunday's pregame ceremony:
Come out behind section 120 from now until the end of the 3rd to drop off a letter for the family of Sgt. Lunger pic.twitter.com/UaA68yav4f
— Eireann Dolan (@EireannDolan) August 1, 2015
A's fans: thank you for the hundreds and hundreds of letters of support for Sgt. Lunger's family and the @HaywardPD pic.twitter.com/JF1Who6sR2
— Eireann Dolan (@EireannDolan) August 5, 2015
