Injuries happen in baseball, but they’re not supposed to affect those throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia Phillies fans, it seems an ailing elbow will keep former Philadelphia Eagles football player Jason Kelce from doing the honors on Saturday, March 30.
Kelce, 36, revealed on his “New Heights” podcast that he and his former teammate Fletcher Cox were scheduled to throw out the first pitch ahead of the Phillies’ second game of the season.
The newly retired Kelce then confirmed via X that an elbow injury will keep him from taking the mound.
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“To be clear @fcoxx_91 is gonna have to throw it because my elbow doesn’t work,” he wrote, not elaborating on the injury.
Kelce previously indicated on “New Heights” that it was possible he would have to back out.
“I’m throwing out a pitch, me and Fletcher Cox,” Kelce said on the episode that aired Wednesday, March 27. “We’ll see how it goes. My elbow doesn’t work anymore, so I think Fletcher’s going to have to do it.”
His brother and cohost, Travis Kelce, was able to relate.
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“I really jumped off Opening Day in Cleveland last year,” said Travis, 34. “You and Fletcher Cox? See, this is how they got me. They said, ‘You and Mom are going to throw out the first pitch,’ and then Mom was like, ‘You got it.’ I was like, ‘Mom, I didn’t practice.’”
Travis ultimately threw out the first pitch for the Cleveland Guardians last year, but he spiked his attempt into the ground about halfway to home plate, only for the pitch to bounce back up and nearly hit Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber in the face.
Even though the recently retired Eagles center won’t have a chance to deliver a better first pitch than his brother, Jason has been plenty busy over the past few weeks. He’s spent his newly found free time pranking his wife, posing as an Uber driver for a former teammate and making an appearance on sitcom Abbott Elementary.
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Next, he could take his hosting talents to television, with several networks reportedly seeking Jason for an on-air role. Us Weekly confirmed a report from The Athletic on Wednesday that Jason is in the running to cohost ESPN’s Monday Night Football pregame show.
CBS, NBC and Prime Video are also reportedly after his services, and The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand called Jason “the linchpin of the NFL TV free-agent season.”
The Phillies were originally scheduled to open their season on Thursday, March 28, against the Atlanta Braves, but a rainout pushed Opening Day to Friday, March 29.
