Padres enlisting fitting former star to throw out first pitch during NLDS series
May 27, 2009; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2006, the San Diego Padres are enlisting a notable member of that 2006 team for first-pitch duties.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports this week that retired former Padres pitcher Jake Peavy will be throwing out the first pitch during Game 4 of the NLDS in San Diego on Saturday. Current Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, who wears No. 44 in honor of Peavy, will be starting in Game 4. Fittingly, Peavy will be wearing a No. 44 Musgrove jersey when he throws out the first pitch, Acee adds.
Peavy, now 41, played for San Diego from 2002 to 2009. He was one of the best known Padres of that era, making two All-Star teams with them on top of winning the NL Cy Young Award and the pitching Triple Crown in 2007. Peavy then went on to win World Series titles with both the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants before the end of his MLB career in 2016.
The presence of Peavy should help fire up the San Diego crowd before Game 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. As for Game 3 on Friday, Padres fans have some bulletin-board material to do the trick for that one as well.
