Big Train Hosts Fan Appreciation Night, Tribute to Latino Baseball in Final Regular-Season Home Game

BETHESDA, Md — The Bethesda Big Train celebrated the end of the regular season of the 2026 Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League on Sunday evening as a packed Shirley Povich Field enjoyed Fan Appreciation Night and Tribute to Latin Baseball Night.

Before even entering the ballpark, each fan received an assorted pack of sports cards, with cards ranging from Nationals and Orioles cards from this season to complete sets of cards from the 1980s and 90s, including American football, baseball, hockey and soccer cards.

Once inside Shirley Povich Field, fans enjoyed mariachi music courtesy of Mariachi Aguila, and could purchase tacos and quesadillas at the concession stand.

Sunday evening also saw the commemoration of several Big Train Community Heroes — Grace Rivera-Oven, the President of the Board of Education and Anthony Cohen, the President of the Menare Foundation.

The Big Train was also proud to host Representative Jamie Raskin, who serves Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, including Bethesda and the surrounding area. Representative Raskin showed off his juggling skills and took time to speak to Big Train fans and volunteers, while also presenting the Big Train Community Hero awards alongside Bruce Adams, the Big Train’s founder and President. 

Rivera-Oven, who immigrated from Bolivia and attended school in Gaithersburg from elementary through high school, points to Montgomery County’s diversity as one of the reasons that she continues to serve the local community. 

“When you’re an immigrant, and you’re welcomed into a community with open arms,” Rivera-Oven said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

“If you lift the hood of Montgomery County, we have a cross-section of people and cultures from around the globe,” Cohen said. “I think it really enriches our community.”

Rivera-Oven also highlights all of the other Latino members of the community who have grown into roles in local organizations and won political races as people who can inspire the next generation of activists.

“We have such good role models. The President of the County Council [Natali Fani-González] is Latina, the Speaker of the House of Delegates [Joseline Peña-Melnyk] is Latina,” Rivera-Oven said. “You have this plethora of young Latinos and young Latinas, it just fills you with pride.”

Rivera-Oven recalled legendary public figures like Roberto Clemente, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 17 seasons and passed away in a plane crash on the way to delivering relief supplies to Nicaragua in 1972.

“What a hero, right?” Rivera-Oven said. “He is the pedigree of what the good in the world is, he passed away doing good, taking care of people in need.”

To celebrate Clemente’s career and life, all of the Big Train players wore jerseys with the number 21. All of the Community Hero jerseys awarded to deserving heroes and nonprofit organizations also feature the No. 21 jersey to honor Clemente, and his number is displayed on the right-field wall.

Cohen, another of Sunday evening’s Community Heroes, serves as President of the Menare Foundation, a nonprofit organization, who walked over 750 miles over almost three months to retrace the path of the Underground Railroad, starting in Sandy Spring, Maryland and ending in Ontario, Canada. 

“I’ve been proud to have a nonprofit that preserved the history of our country through the story of the Underground Railroad,” Cohen said. “It’s an experience that keeps on giving… and it’s a personal reminder to continue to fight for the American Dream.”

Cohen also traveled to different schools to speak about the Underground Railroad and his experiences while on the walk. According to the Foundation’s website, “The journey will draw upon the legacy and achievements of previous generations to galvanize modern activists to work toward truth-telling and transformation.”

“I think our Founding Framers had some great ideas around the topic of liberty and justice for all, which didn’t quite translate to ‘all’,” Cohen said. “I love living in a county where we’re still pushing towards those goals, where no one will be left behind.”

On Saturday morning, before Sunday evening’s game, Big Train players, staff and volunteers spread to sites around Montgomery County as part of the Fifth Annual Roberto Clemente Community Service Day. 

Groups collected food donations at several different sites, volunteered at nonprofit organizations and helped set up a sustainability event as part of the community service efforts. 

Cooper Walner serves as the Program Associate for Leveling the Playing Field of Greater Washington, a nonprofit organization that collects donated sports equipment and redistributes them to schools and youth groups, according to their website. 

Big Train volunteers worked with Leveling the Playing Field to sort athletic equipment and organize the organization’s warehouse to ensure the equipment is properly maintained and in good condition. 

“It’s a huge help to have teams like the Big Train come out and do a lot of this hard work,” Walner said. “I imagine they got through 10- to 15-thousand dollars worth of equipment, which is a huge help for such a limited staff here at the warehouse.”

The Big Train would go on to win 16-3 over the Gaithersburg Giants on Sunday night, putting them one step closer to the regular-season title with only four games remaining.