Sporting Saugus Strong and Los Angeles Dodgers gear, it was a sea of blue and white at the Saugus High School gym as the student body received a special visit from the Major League baseball team on Friday morning.
In the form of a pep rally, more than 2,500 students had the chance to meet and play games on the court with some of the athletes as part of the team’s Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour.
The Saugus High School visit was part of several other tour stops of the Dodgers’ 17th annual community service week in which they focused on expressing gratitude to public servants and first responders, as well as holding events that support children experiencing homelessness and local animal shelters.
“The Dodgers came here today to let these kids know we love them. We are with them. We support them,” said Naomi Rodriguez, vice president of external affairs for the team. “These kids went through a tragedy in the last few months. We want them to know they’re not alone.”
Following the deadly Nov. 14 shooting on campus that killed three students, a visit by the baseball team was an opportunity to create positive memories, said Dodgers’ third baseman Justin Turner.
“It was a good time to get in here and hopefully create a memory and an experience for these kids to talk about for a long time and you know, take their minds off of what happened here,” added Turner, who had the opportunity to sign a baseball and jersey from a student he paired up with to play a game.
The Dodgers also presented Saugus High School with a $5,000 check.
After a morning of cheers and laughter with students, the baseball team, including players like Walker Buehler, Max Muncy and Austin Barnes, visited the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station to have lunch with some of the first responders who responded to the emergency calls from Saugus High School during the shooting.
