IVE's Jang Wonyoung to Throw First Pitch at Mets vs. Dodgers Game in New York

Jang Wonyoung will walk out to the mound at Citi Field in New York on July 26 to throw the ceremonial first pitch before the Mets take on the Dodgers, IVE's agency Starship Entertainment confirmed on July 16.

It's a high-profile slot: the Mets vs. Dodgers matchup is one of the more watched regular-season rivalries in MLB, and having a K-pop act open the proceedings puts IVE in front of a stadium crowd well beyond their usual fanbase.

Wonyoung shared a brief statement through Starship: "It's an honor to be chosen as the first-pitch thrower for such a big game with baseball fans around the world watching. I'll do my best to bring good energy to the audience and the players."

Alongside the first pitch, the full group will film special content at the ballpark with former pitchers Kim Byung-hyun and Dustin Nippert. Kim is a Korean baseball legend who spent parts of his career in the major leagues, while Nippert is a dual-national pitcher well known to fans of the KBO. The combination makes for a natural reunion of baseball worlds, and the content should land well for audiences in both Korea and North America.

The MLB appearance kicks off what is shaping up to be a busy American stretch for IVE. Their second world tour, SHOW WHAT I AM, begins its North America run on July 21 with stops in Toronto and Oakland, continuing through August 9. The group has been steadily building a presence in the U.S. market: they appeared on Fox 11's Good Day LA earlier this year to promote their second full-length album REVIVE+, and in 2024 they performed at Lollapalooza Chicago as part of their first world tour.

A group stepping from festival stages to MLB diamonds in the span of a year is a meaningful kind of momentum, and the Citi Field invite suggests IVE's North American profile is growing in some genuinely unexpected directions.