Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder Sings ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ at Chicago Cubs Game
Anyone who knows Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder is well aware of his love of the Chicago Cubs, and Vedder returned to Wrigley Field last night to take part in the festivities at the Cubs-Mets game. The vocalist has thrown out the first pitch in the past, and at last night's game he once again had the honor of singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th Inning Stretch.
As you can see, Vedder is right at home behind the mic, and even lets the audience take the lead on "root, root, root for the Cubbies." And at the end of the performance, one lucky fan in the stands below the broadcast booth walks away with a souvenir as Vedder tossed a cap in the air. Watch it all in the player above.
The vocalist also stepped into the broadcast booth for an interview during the game and you can see photos posted on Twitter of both his singing and interview below:
Vedder has a long history with the Cubs and fulfilled a longtime dream when Pearl Jam played in Wrigley Field in 2013. During the show, the Vedder met up with "Mr. Cub," baseball legend Ernie Banks. He told Billboard at the time that he showed Banks his first baseball glove from his youth and that he ended up giving the mitt to the legend.
"Ernie saw it and then he put it on, and he said, [adopts an Ernie Banks voice] 'I really like this glove… It's a good mitt. There's love in this glove. I really would like to have this glove. This would be a connection between you and me to have this mitt,'" Vedder explained. "I said, 'Well Ernie it's my first mitt as a kid.' And his friend was looking at me going, 'Oh no you're never going to see that again," he laughs. "I said, 'You can absolutely have my mitt.' Because if you go back and realize some day Ernie Banks might ask for your mitt, you f--king give it to him -- Mr. Cub, the hero that you watched as a kid."
During last night's appearance, Vedder wore a No. 14 pin honoring the late Ernie Banks, who passed away in January. Last night marked the 45th anniversary of Banks' 500th home run.
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