The Atlanta Braves made it all about Ludacris on Wednesday night (Sept. 4) when the team honored the hometown hero with a bobblehead night and a ceremonial first pitch. After handing out the bobble to the first 15,000 fans who showed up at Truist Park — depicting the Grammy-winning MC wearing jeans, a throwback Hank Aaron No. 44 jersey and rocking a mic in his hand — the real show came when Luda hit the mound.
After being carted onto the field by mascot Blooper, the “Roll Out” rapper drew wild applause when fans realized he’d come dressed as his larger-than-life character from 2004 video for “Get Back.” No, his massive prosthetic arms, oversized shoes and watch were not some weird side-effect of his recent plunge into drinking glacial pool water.
They were, in fact, an homage to that Spike Jonze-directed video in which a mega-swole Luda confronts an overly familiar fan in a bathroom by knocking him out with his humongous hands before hitting the streets with his Hulked-out look. With the baseball velcro’d to his big mitts, Luda impressively smoked one right down the middle.
In video from the big moment, Luda seems to be having a blast stomping around in his vintage “Get Back” gear and No. 11 custom jersey. A post from the Braves celebrating his long history with the team included previous pre-game concerts, Luda posing with a glittering Braves 2021 World Series ring and championship trophy and other happy moments with the squad over the years.
The team also shared the dishes served at the stadium on Wednesday night inspired by the menu at the rapper’s Chicken and Beer restaurant.
Check out video and photos of Luda throwing out his first pitch below.
