Watch Ghost frontman Papa Emeritus IV throw off-target first pitch at MLB game

Tobias Forge throwing from the mound — (Image credit: Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Last night, Ghost frontman Tobias Forge – a.k.a. Papa Emeritus IV – threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Major League Baseball match-up between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians. The game took place at the Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois.

Striding purposefully towards the mound to the sound of The Tramps' dancefloor classic Disco Inferno, Forge was dressed in a Chicago jersey with the name 'Papa M' on the back. He paused to skilfully flip his bat to one side, before winding up to deliver up pitch that, while not strictly within the recognised strike zone, didn't require the catcher to scramble too far from home plate.

Forge's successful-if-slightly-wayward pitch may have been a good omen for the home team, but Cleveland ran out 4-2 winners and now lead Chicago by seven games in the American League Central Division. White Sox right fielder Gavin Sheets homered in the bottom of the eighth, dispatching an 85mph cutter from Shane Bieber into the stands.

Meanwhile, Ghost have released a pro-shot live version of their viral hit Mary On A Cross, filmed at the band's show earlier this month at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, FL. The release marks the conclusion of the band's North American tour with Spiritbox and Mastodon, which finishes up at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, WI, this evening (September 23).

"We wish to inform you that all good things must come to an end," the clergy write in a statement. "Although the US Imperatour will wrap this weekend we wanted to leave you with this token of our appreciation for your continued support."

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.