Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan Throws First Pitch at New York Mets Game

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IraKaplanMets IraKaplanMets.jpg - Credit: Mariano Regidor/Redferns
IraKaplanMets IraKaplanMets.jpg - Credit: Mariano Regidor/Redferns

Yo La Tengo experienced a full circle career moment on Thursday when Ira Kaplan took the mount at Citi Field to throw the first pitch at a New York Mets game. The group’s name comes from a decades-old story from the team’s 1962 inaugural season when center fielder Richie Ashburn and shortstop Elio Chacón worked out a way to avoid collisions by calling fly balls in Spanish. Instead of “I got it,” Ashburn would shout: “Yo la tengo!”

“Please welcome guitarist and vocalist Ira Kaplan from the group Yo La Tengo, who have been one of the most critically acclaimed bands in American music for almost 40 years,” the announcer said in a grand introduction. “A lifelong Mets fan, Ira and bandmates recently celebrated the release of their 17th album, This Stupid World. Our ceremonial catcher is Mark Vientos. All right, Ira, it’s your pitch!”

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Kaplan, now 66 years old, is a self-proclaimed “long-suffering” Mets fan who has been following the team since childhood. His suffering was at ease after he threw the first pitch, then watched as the team went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2. To make the event even sweeter, it marked a home game for the Queens, New York native who sported a custom jersey.

Yo La Tengo first announced the big moment two weeks ago. “Thursday, June 1 at approximately 1pm ET – Ira will throw out the first pitch ahead of the New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies game at Citi Field,” they wrote on Instagram, joking: “Photographic evidence to follow (or not, depending on how it goes.)”

Yo La Tengo tour dates:

June 9 – Jersey City, NJ @ White Eagle Hall
June 10 – Washington, D.C. @ The Atlantis
June 11 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 – Club
June 13 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
June 14 – South Deerfield, MA @ Summer Stage at Tree House Brewing Company Western Mass
June 15 – Montreal, Quebec @ Corona Theatre
June 16 – Toronto, Ontario @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
June 18 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
June 19 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
June 21 – Homer, NY @ Center for the Arts
June 22 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
June 23 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Beer Garden
June 25 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
June 26 – Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
June 27 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
June 28 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
July 28 – Niigata, Japan @ Fuji Rock Festival
Aug. 11 – Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Festival
Aug. 12 – Oslo, Norway @ Øyafestivalen
Aug. 16 – Paredes de Coura, Portugal @ Paredes de Coura Festival
Aug. 18 – Saint-Malo, France @ La Route du Rock

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