Hatebreed Guitarist “Florida” Frank Novinec Throws First Pitch at Tampa Bay Rays Game
We don’t do a lot of sports related stories on this site. I tried doing a search of the site for the word “baseball” and few of the stories were actually about baseball in any substantial way, such as a 2017 story called “Watch Some Idiot Hit Himself in the Head with a Baseball Bat While Rocking Out to a Slipknot Cover Band.” That one just feels like a metal-themed America’s Funniest Home Videos. But now we have a nice, wholesome story about baseball and Hatebreed, and nobody had to risk a concussion.
Guitarist “Florida” Frank Novinec of Connecticut-based metalcore act Hatebreed is known to be very proud of his favorite baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays. There’s a lot of photos online of him wearing a Rays cap. Well, on Saturday night, he was honored by bring invited to throw out the first pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays home game against the San Diego Padres. I can only imagine what the non-metal fans in the audience thought when they heard he was from Hatebreed.
On his Instagram, Novinec gave a brief summary of his feelings on being given this honor from his favorite team:
“Thanks a million to [Tampa Bay Rays] for having me throw out the first pitch today. Words can’t describe what an honor and privilege it was.”
Oh, and good news, the Rays beat the Padres by 11 to 4. I guess that’s only good news if you’re not a fan of the Padres. But hey, feel free to celebrate with Novinec on one of the upcoming Hatebreed tour dates:
09/21 Des Moines, IA – Knotfest Iowa 2024
09/26 Portland, ME – State Theatre
09/27 Boston, MA – House Of Blues
09/28 New York, NY – Terminal 5
09/29 Montreal, QC – MTelus
09/30 Toronto, ON – Rebel
10/02 Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
10/03 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
10/07 Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
10/08 McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre
10/10 Sauget, IL – Pop’s
10/11 Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
10/12 San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
10/14 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
10/15 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
10/16 Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium
10/18 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
10/19 Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theater
10/20 Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
10/22 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10/23 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
10/24 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
