San Jose Giants pay tribute to players’ ‘patron saint’ for 52-year career

Linda Pereira honored by players, fans at Excite Ballpark ceremony

There have been a lot of big names who have played for the San Jose Giants on their way to the big leagues, and you can bet they knew Linda Pereira’s name.

Last Sunday, the team honored the woman known as the Patron Saint of Players as she retired after 52 years of service at Excite Ballpark. A video with well-wishes from dozens of people, including former San Jose Giants Manager Lenn Sakata, San Francisco Giants pitcher Shawn Estes — who noted she still sends him a birthday card every February — and broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, was shown before the game.

Pereira was the team’s face for many season ticket holders, as well as the team’s director of player personnel, in charge of the host family program, where she would recruit South Bay families to host players during the season. When Major League Baseball began providing accommodations to minor-league players after COVID-19, the program came to an end.

Mark Wilson, the team’s general manager for the past 38 years, said the front office’s response to most player concerns was “See Linda.”

“Not many organizations have one person responsible for all of the players’ needs,” he said. “So, if a player comes into town and needs a hotel room, ‘See Linda’; if a player’s family comes into town, ‘See Linda’; if a player’s girlfriend comes into town, ‘See Linda.’ “And Linda always said, ‘Keep the wives and girlfriends separate.'”

Wilson was joined by Roberta Mazur, executive director of professional baseball’s Scout of the Year program and a longtime friend of Pereira’s, and current General Manager Ben Taylor, who gave Pereira a jersey with the number “52” on the back and unveiled the Linda Pereira Scout Bench. He stated that the bench, which is located a few rows below the press box behind home plate, “welcomes scouts, players, and all personnel just like Linda did so graciously here for 52 years.”

Hospitality is something that runs in the family. Manny Pereira, Pereira’s father, owned the popular Manny’s Cellar bar in downtown San Jose and worked the Heineken booth at San Jose Giants games for many years.

Pereira, who has earned the nicknames “LP,” “Muffin” (from Dusty Baker), and, most recently, “Miss Linda” from younger staffers, expressed gratitude to everyone who came out to celebrate her that day. She was at Oracle Park last month to honor longtime San Francisco Giants Clubhouse Manager Mike Murphy, who was inducted into the team’s Wall of Fame for his 65 years of service.

“The highlight of the weekend for me was Mike Murphy coming up to me and saying, ‘Muffin, you are the Mike Murphy of San Jose,'” she remarked. “The greatest compliment of my life.”

DINING IN LOS GATOS: I recently crossed Dio Deka in Los Gatos off my “Haven’t Been There Since the Pandemic List” and had a chance to chat with Managing Partner Yanni Dulles and Executive Chef Nikos Moulinos. Dulles says the popular Greek restaurant’s business has been steadily improving since COVID-19 shut everything down in 2020, and he anticipates a good fall season as cooler weather makes Dio Deka’s indoor dining room at the Hotel Los Gatos more appealing.

Aside from the fact that my addiction to the housemade pita hasn’t subsided, I discovered during my visit that, while Dio Deka hasn’t been open for lunch in years, its kitchen is quite busy during the day. This is because it benefits Cafe Dio, their sister restaurant across the street at 151 E. Main St., which serves deep-dish pizza, sandwiches, salads, coffee, and pastries.

SEEING SCORSESE: Pruneyard Cinemas is going all-out for a five-week tribute to legendary film director Martin Scorsese, which began Friday night with a screening of his 1995 hit “Casino” and a “Casino Night” pre-party at the adjacent Cedar Room Lounge. More Scorsese films will be released on the following Tuesdays: “Raging Bull” (September 19), “The Last Waltz” (September 26), “GoodFellas” (October 3) and “The Departed” (October 10). “Casino” will also be shown again on September 18 as part of Pruneyard’s Culinary Cinema series, though that screening is nearly sold out.

All of this is in anticipation of Scorsese’s newest film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which is set to be released on Oct. 20, but Pruneyard Cinemas co-owner Jack NyBlom says it’s also an opportunity to show newly remastered 4K versions of the 80-year-old director’s films to Bay Area audiences.

“It’s looking like we’ll be showing the NorCal premieres of at least ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘The Last Waltz,'” NyBlom said. The complete schedule and tickets are available at www.pruneyardcinemas.com/specialevents.

FARMWORKER BENEFIT: The Gilroy-based nonprofit Earth to Table will hold its first benefit concert Tuesday at Menlo Park’s Guild Theatre to raise funds for farmworkers who have faced hardships since the January mass shooting in Half Moon Bay and severe weather events across the state.

MALO, the Juan Escovedo All-Stars, the Bernal Beat, the Just Project, and All Nighter featuring Ricky Watters Jr. will perform at the 7 p.m. concert, which will also feature remarks by civil rights icon Dolores Huerta; Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, founder and executive director of Ayudando Latinos a Soar; and “A Song for Cesar” filmmaker Abel Sanchez.

Brent Turner and Janet Lloyd-Davis founded Earth to Table to support and empower the farmworker community.Tickets can be purchased at www.guildtheatre.com.