Baseball fans on social media made their feelings known on Fat Joe’s attempt to hype up the crowd at Yankee Stadium before Game 3 of the 2024 World Series.
Before Game 2 of the series in Los Angeles, the Dodgers brought out legendary rapper Ice Cube to get the crowd pumped up for the pivotal clash. By all accounts, Ice Cube, real name O’Shea Jackson Sr., was able to get the crowd on their feet, with cameras spotting Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo singing along to “It Was A Good Day” with the fans in the crowd.
As a way to one-up Ice Cube and the Dodgers, the Yankees throughout Fat Joe to show New York had the same hip-hop presence as Los Angeles. However, Fat Joe’s performance seemingly was a swing and a miss, with many fans on social media pointing out how the performance did not hype up the crowd.
“Who thought this Fat Joe performance before [the World Series] Game 3, in the middle of the field all by himself, was a good idea?” one fan pondered. “Man is having to ad lib (sic) almost all three songs instead of the actual words.”
Another fan posted that having Fat Joe, real name Joseph Cartagena, as the counter to Ice Cube was not smart by the Yankees, which garnered over 2,000 likes. “This Fat Joe opening is the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” said another watcher.
Other fans noted just how the crowd on hand did not feel the same impact as the crowd in Los Angeles did for Ice Cube. “Dodger Stadium definitely had more juice for Ice Cube than Yankee Stadium did for Fat Joe,” the fan reflected.
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. posted: “Most will laugh at the woman dancing. But the real comedy is watching a rapper remember in real time to mumble through words they can’t say on national TV. Respect to Fat Joe for trying to do a baseball version.” Finally, a fan put the general sentiment of most fans in a single sentence: “Fat Joe actually wasn’t that bad. It’s just Ice Cube was a lot better.”
Along with Fat Joe’s less-than-stellar performance, the main storyline heading into Game 3 was Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s availability. In the seventh inning of Game 2, Ohtani partially dislocated his left shoulder after sliding into second base.
Although dislocated shoulders often take time to recover, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts revealed Ohtani would be good to go for Game 3, barring any setbacks. Speaking to reporters Sunday, Roberts reiterated that Ohtani’s playing time was dependent on his tolerance.
“I think that taking dry swings, which he’s done, but then obviously taking balls off the tee, batting practice in the cage, that’s going to be telling,” Roberts continued. “I think that he’s obviously well aware of himself and his body so if he feels good enough to go, then I see no reason why he wouldn’t be in there.”
So far, Ohtani compiled one walk and grounded out to first base in his first two plate appearances. Freddie Freeman hit a home run in the first inning to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead.
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