CLEVELAND — It was a special occasion at Progressive Field on Thursday!
3News' Jay Crawford had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch prior to tonight's Guardians game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The co-host of "What's New" and "The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show" fired a strike to home plate (albeit a little high) while wearing gear to support the AL Central champions.
A Sandusky native and lifelong Cleveland sports fan, Jay was joined on the mound by "UCSS" colleagues Adam "The Bull" and Garrett Bush. Prior to the "moment of truth," he also got some advice from Guards pitchers Aaron Civale and Sam Hentges.
"I'd like to say, 'Throw a strike,' but I also want to see you blow up whoever's catching it," Hentges joked, "so let it rip."
Well, it looks like Jay managed to do both, as his pitch also had some pretty nice zip on it! No confirmation on velocity, though.
The Guardians will host the best-of-three AL Wild Card Series beginning Oct. 7 against a to-be-determined opponent. Jay will surely have much more to say Friday at 11 a.m. on the latest edition of "The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show," which you can subscribe to here.