Video: Geddy Lee tugs heartstrings with stirring baseball narration

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By ( Prog ) published

Ten years since Geddy Lee threw out the first pitch at his beloved Toronto Blue Jays, the Rush man is back to recite a poem to accompany another season opener

Geddy Lee throwing a baseball
Geddy Lee throws out the first pitch ahead of the 2013 season opener (Image credit: Tom Szczerbowski)

Ten years ago, Rush legend Geddy Lee threw the ceremonial first pitch before the Toronto Blue Jays took on the Cleveland Indians in the opening game of the 2013 season. Now the bassist – who can regularly be seen sitting behind home plate at Blue Jays games at the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto – has recited a poem that captures all the romance of America's national pastime.

For this this year's season opening home game, which saw The Blue Jays take on the Detroit Tigers in MLB's American League, Lee hooked up with Canadian broadcaster Sportsnet for a promotional video. As Rush's 1977 classic Closer To The Heart plays, Lee solemnly reads the poem, apparently titled Our House, Our Home. 

"How do you make a house a home?" asks Lee, a note of poignancy in his voice. "Is it simply marked by the passage of time? Or is is by sharing a space with the ones you love, affirming that home truly is where the heart is?"

The narration is accompanied by slow motion footage of fans embracing and children enchanted by the majesty of the ball park, before clips of various Blue Jays highlights throughout the years are shown. 

Lee's contribution to the festivities clearly did the trick as the home team ran out 9-3 winners, with the Blue Jays scoring a franchise record five home runs.

Last week it was confirmed that Lee's long-awaited and delayed autobiography My Effin' Life will be published on November 14. According to the publishers, the book finds Lee talking candidly "about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school," before tracking the history of Rush as they "exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time."

Fraser Lewry
Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.