The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to bond over their shared love of baseball. They rented out a suite to watch the Cleveland Guardians home opener on Monday. On Saturday, Darius Garland will throw out the first pitch in the second game of their day-night doubleheader against the New York Yankees.
Garland seemed pretty excited about the opportunity when asked about it after the Cavs win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
“I’ve been here for five years and it’s my first time throwing out a pitch,” Garland said. “I think it’s long overdue, but I’m super happy about it. Especially against the Yankees.”
Like his backcourt mate Donovan Mitchell, Garland’s first love is baseball. He grew up playing shortstop and pitcher but had to choose one sport because he wasn’t able to play both AAU baseball and basketball. Still, he thinks he could’ve made it to the college level if he chose to stick with baseball instead.
That confidence was evident in how he spoke on Friday night about his approach to the first pitch.
“I played baseball since I was a baby,” Garland said. “So I might get it up there with a little heat, you know what I’m saying? I might throw a changeup, a little curve ball to throw the catcher off.”
His teammate Mitchell hasn’t thrown out a ceremonial first pitch in a Major League game, but he does have some in the area. He threw out the first pitch in a Brooklyn Cyclones game, the high-A affiliate of the New York Mets, in 2022. Mitchell went from the rubber but ended up delivering a passed ball. His catcher didn’t do him any favors in grabbing a fastball that was a little too low and away. Last season, he served as the catcher for his former college coach, Rick Pitino, when he threw out the first pitch last year at a Mets game.
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