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Conor McGregor rivals 50 Cent for worst-ever first pitch at baseball game

<span>Photograph: Jon Durr/USA Today Sports</span>
Photograph: Jon Durr/USA Today Sports

On Tuesday night Conor McGregor joined a long list of celebrities unable to throw in a straight line as he stepped up to the mound before a Chicago Cubs game.

The MMA fighter threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field before the Cubs' met the Minnesota Twins. As you may expect from a professional athlete, his throw had plenty of power but, like the man himself, it lacked control and sailed high and wide of home plate before bouncing into a wall.

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It’s not the first time McGregor has struggled with an American sport. He also underwhelmed when he attempted to throw a football before an NFL game in 2018.

McGregor’s effort on Tuesday inevitably drew comparisons with perhaps the most infamous first pitch of all time, by the rapper 50 Cent in 2014. Like McGregor, 50 Cent threw wide of the plate but lacked the Irishman’s power. He later claimed he had lost his grip on the ball. McGregor may have an excuse of his own: he is recovering from a broken tibia suffered during his defeat to Dustin Poirier earlier this year.

Other famously bad first-pitches include efforts from Anthony Fauci, NBA star John Wall and singer Carly Rae Jepsen.