With no Reds fans allowed at Great American Ball Park in 2020 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, LaRosa’s Family Pizzerias changed its long-running fan favorite ‘Strikeouts for Slices’ promotion to ‘Strikeouts for Cincy’. Instead of giving away free pizza, LaRosa’s contributed $1,000 to the Reds Community Fund every time a Reds pitchers struck-out 11 or more batters during the 60-game regular season and Wild Card Playoff games.

When the season was over, there were twenty-nine eleven-strikeout games that were well-earned by the Reds pitching staff.  “We were so glad that we could still be an active part of the 2020 season by helping the Reds Community Fund help thousands of kids through baseball”, said Mike LaRosa, CEO of LaRosa’s, Inc. “And to thank the Reds for a great run, we decided to make our contribution an even $30,000” he said.

The Reds Community Fund was established in 2001 and is dedicated to improving the lives of underserved youth by leveraging the tradition of the Cincinnati Reds and the game of baseball. RCF continues to expand its community reach year after year. More information about RCF is available at www.reds.com/community.

LaRosa’s was midway through a 5-year sponsorship agreement with the Reds in 2020.

To demonstrate its continued commitment to the Reds, LaRosa’s extended its sponsorship and Strikeouts promotion another year, through the 2023 baseball season. “Who knows what 2021 will bring. We’ll likely need to be as flexible as we were this year in determining our best approach”, LaRosa said.  Each season since 2012, LaRosa’s has rewarded every fan in attendance at home games with a free small pizza whenever Reds pitchers struck-out 11 or more opposing batters – totaling nearly  $5-million dollars-worth of pizza since the program began.  

About LaRosa’s

LaRosa’s was founded in 1954 on Cincinnati’s West Side by Buddy LaRosa. It is now a $167 million restaurant company with 65 pizzerias serving neighborhoods in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.  To learn more about LaRosa’s, go to www.larosas.com.