THE APEX TIMES
OG Anunoby and Jose Alvarado to throw ceremonial first pitches at Citi Field this week
The NBA’s Knicks champions will bring a Queens stop to their city-wide celebration as OG Anunoby and Jose Alvarado are scheduled to throw out first pitches before Mets games at Citi Field, linking basketball’s title run to New York baseball history.
The Knicks’ championship victory lap across the five boroughs is making a quick detour into baseball, with OG Anunoby and Jose Alvarado set for ceremonial first pitches at Citi Field this week. The Mets will be the host club as the NBA champions add another layer to their public celebration, this time in the ballpark where New York fandom never really takes a day off.
Anunoby, a forward for the Knicks, will take the mound at Citi Field on Sunday, throwing his first pitch to former Mets shortstop José Reyes. The matchup is steeped in New York connections. Reyes, a longtime Mets fan favorite, spent his best seasons in the Mets’ uniform, and his role as the catcher for Anunoby’s ceremonial pitch turns a symbolic moment into a direct thread to franchise history.
The Knicks’ championship run is also part of the Mets event’s backstory. According to the Mets’ game-preview coverage, Anunoby was highlighted as a central figure in New York’s Game 4 comeback described as a 29-point swing. While this is not a baseball storyline, the cross-sport spotlight matters because it brings an audience that watched the finish line in the NBA to a ballpark still defining its own summer rhythm.
Anunoby’s baseball interest runs deeper than the ceremonial assignment. The same coverage notes that he grew up a Cardinals fan in Missouri after moving to the United States from London as a four-year-old. Over time, he adopted the Mets as his team, and in an interview with The Athletic he described watching baseball “all the time,” naming Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Pedro Martinez among his favorite players. The Mets are leaning into that personal connection by putting Anunoby in front of a fan base that includes those names on its collective highlight reel.
Alvarado, also a Knicks champion, will be the second league-crossing presence at Citi Field during the week-long span of the event. Like Anunoby, his appearance is positioned as part of the Knicks’ broader effort to celebrate with New York communities at major city venues, with the Mets serving as the baseball stop on the route.
For the Mets, the timing provides a clean, low-risk way to keep the spotlight on the franchise during a summer moment when attention is naturally shared across sports. Citi Field is not only a place for games, but also a civic stage, and ceremonial first pitches are one of the few pregame events that quickly connect casual viewers to the atmosphere inside the park.
What to watch next is less about competition and more about continuity. If the Mets keep drawing high-profile crossover figures for club-related moments, it could reinforce the team’s visibility beyond its own day-to-day headlines. For Knicks fans, it is a chance to see one of the NBA’s championship heroes in a setting where the local legends are measured one season at a time, not one series at a time.
Why It Matters
- It ties an NBA championship celebration to Mets culture, bringing a cross-sport audience into Citi Field for a shared New York moment.
- By involving José Reyes directly, the ceremonial pitch reinforces the Mets franchise’s own historical identity rather than keeping the event purely promotional.
- The Mets gain visibility in a crowded summer sports landscape, where attention often shifts quickly between leagues and storylines.
Key Facts
- OG Anunoby is scheduled to throw a ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field on Sunday before a Mets game.
- Anunoby’s first pitch will be caught by former Mets shortstop José Reyes.
- Jose Alvarado is also set to throw a ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field during the week.
- The event is framed as part of the Knicks champions’ city-wide celebration across New York’s boroughs.
- The coverage says Anunoby grew up a Cardinals fan in Missouri after moving to the U.S. from London as a four-year-old, then later adopted the Mets.
- Anunoby is reported to have discussed watching baseball constantly and citing Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Pedro Martinez as favorites.