Chicago Cubs and White Sox embrace Hispanic, Latino fans with heritage events

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Cubs hosted their annual Hispanic and Latino Heritage Celebration Thursday night.

It was is part of a bigger effort from Major League Baseball to embrace its Hispanic and Latino fans.

ABC7 spoke to the Cubs and the White Sox about the effort, as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

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The Cubs went all out for Hispanic and Latino heritage night. Pregame, there was a big celebration with mariachi music and dancing, and inside a lot of the fans will be wearing specially designed jerseys and t-shirts.

Outside Wrigley Field in May, Gallagher Way came alive with Mexican culture, including Mariachi music and dancing.

According to the Cubs, demand for tickets to the game, which include a special collector's edition jersey, has gone up 200%, and they are expected another huge crowd Thursday. The jersey displays the name Cachorros, Cubs in Spanish.

"We sold so many we actually ran out of the jerseys," Cubs EVP of Marketing Jen Martindale said.

The jerseys and t-shirts were designed by Chicago artist Liz Flores.

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Across town, White Sox fans received a Mexican-style guayabera at Mexican heritage night in June. Fans lined up around the block to get into the game. They also enjoyed music and dancing outside the ballpark.

"They turn out and they know how to enjoy a game, that's for sure," White Sox VP of Public Relations Sheena Quinn said.

Major League Baseball is looking to expand the fan base in Mexico and other Latino countries at the same time as the Latino fan base in this country is exploding, and not just on special theme nights.

Baseball is attracting Latino fans in droves. The Sox say one third of their fans identify as Hispanic or Latino.

"It's critical for us," Quinn said. "They're truly a part of the White Sox family. They are the White Sox family."

And the story is the same on the North Side. Both teams are drawing Latino fans.

"From my data, we're absolutely seeing more Hispanic and Latino fans coming to Wrigley Field," Martindale said.

Both the White Sox and the Cubs say they rely heavily on their Hispanic and Latino employees to make sure their efforts to reach out to the Hispanic communities are authentic.