- Patrick Kane threw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field before Tuesday’s Cubs-White Sox game
- The crowd stood and cheered for close to a full minute in his first Chicago appearance since re-signing
- Read below for Kane’s reaction and video of the ovation
Patrick Kane got the full Wrigley Field treatment on Tuesday night.
The Blackhawks winger threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the second game of the Crosstown Classic, and the ballpark stood and cheered him for close to a full minute before he ever reached the mound. Nobody had to explain to a Chicago crowd who was walking out there.
Watch the ovation:
Cubs fans and White Sox fans do not agree on much, and the Blackhawks put it about as plainly as anyone could. Their post read: “cubs fan? sox fan? doesn’t matter, we’re all 88 fans.”
Kane was asked on the field what the reception meant to him.
“The people here are unbelievable. I feel like they’ve always had my back since I was 18 years old. So it’s fun to come back and be able to play in front of them.”
Here’s the full interview from the warning track:
This was his first big public appearance in the city since he signed back with Chicago on July 25. The deal is two years at $16 million with a full no-move clause, and Kane has already made clear the return is not a farewell tour.
Kane has done this at Wrigley before, too. He threw a first pitch in 2007 as a freshly drafted No. 1 overall pick, did one alongside Jonathan Toews after the 2010 Stanley Cup, and brought the trophy to the mound with Toews again in 2015.
The numbers hold up just as well. He sits third in Blackhawks history with 446 goals and second with 1,225 points, and he owns three Cups, a Hart, an Art Ross and a Conn Smythe from his time in Chicago.
Now he gets to do it in a Blackhawks sweater again. Chicago opens the season on Sept. 29 in Vegas.
