Tour 2018 – a pitch and a puck for Ledley in LA
Tue 24 July 2018, 07:57|Tottenham Hotspur
Ledley King stepped into American sport’s fast lane on Monday – taking on two of the USA’s mainline sports head-to-head here in Los Angeles.
Our legendary former skipper first padded up to play ice hockey with the Anaheim Ducks before stepping onto the mound at the Angels Stadium to take the Ceremonial First Pitch before the LA Angels-Chicago White Sox match in the MLB.
The puck...
First up, ice hockey. Ledley hooked up with Ducks’ captain Ryan Getzlaf, padded up in a customised ‘King 26’ kit and took to the ice...
“It was really, really difficult,” said Ledley. “It takes about half-an-hour to get ready! I’d not skated for about 25 years, but I still thought I’d be able to do it. Silly me!"
"I was struggling out there and trying to combine skating with the stick and controlling the puck, it’s really, really difficult.
“I’ve a lot of respect for those guys to be able to take the big hits as well, the balance and the strength in the legs and hips is incredible. Finishing was the best part of my game, but I hit the deck a few times. I was sweating under there! It’s hard work.”
The pitch...
Next up, an American institution – the Ceremonial First Pitch at a baseball game, in this case, next door to the Ducks in Anaheim and the Angels against the White Sox.
It’s a throw from the pitching mound to the catcher – Blake Parker did the honour for Angels – of approximately 60 feet.
Harry Kane nailed his First Pitch when we attended a Chicago Cubs match at Wrigley Field during our 2014 Tour, so how did Ledley get on?
“Before the game, I was inside the practice cages with the Angels’ players, watching them do a bit of hitting and they invited me in to have a go,” he said.
“I wasn’t too bad. My hitting was better than my skating, put it that way!
“I had a go with the pitching machine, which was coming out at 85-90mph. I could see that alright, although it’s amazing how quick it is. The timing when you go to hit the ball has to be spot on.
“The First Pitch was a great experience. I’d been winding myself up all day thinking about it and combined with all the other things I’d done, my arm felt a little tired at the end of the day and I fell a little short.
“I know Harry nailed it at the Cubs in Chicago, I was there, but it’s not easy. It’s different out there on the pitcher’s mound. It seems like nothing but it makes all the difference. I was a little short, but the whole day was a great experience, a lot of fun.”