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Is This The Worst Ceremonial First Pitch In History?

Singer Carly Rae Jepsen smiles with pitcher Matt Moore just before the start of the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros on Sunday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
J. Meric
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Getty Images
Singer Carly Rae Jepsen smiles with pitcher Matt Moore just before the start of the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros on Sunday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Back in May of 2009, Howard Stern called his producer's ceremonial first pitch at a Mets game "the most embarrasing ceremonial first pitch in baseball history."

And, yeah, Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate's pitch was pretty terrible. (It hit the ump!) But his reign may have come to an end yesterday, when 27-year-old pop star Carly Rae Jepsen essentially rolled a pitch way off the plate at the beginning of a Tampa Bay Rays game.

We won't say more. Instead, here are three videos that showcase the bad and the ugly. You tell us: Who owns the worst ceremonial first pitch in baseball history?

Jepsen's pitch:

Baba Booey's pitch:

A compilation, including Mariah Carey's pitch:

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
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