Bizarre MLB first pitches of the day: Ludacris nails a perfect throw with jumbo arms, Olympian Hezly Rivera stuns with a flip during ceremonial pitch

MLB fans inside the Globe Life Field and Truist Park were treated to bizarre ceremonial first pitches by Olympian Hezly Rivera and rapper/actor Ludacris, respectively.

Hezly Rivera, who won the gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was called to throw the inauguaral pitch ahead of the series finale between the Rangers and Yankees. Meanwhile, Ludacris threw the inauguaral pitch ahead of Game 2 between the Braves and the Rockies on Wednesday.

Take a look at both bizarre ceremonial first pitches here:

Hezly Rivera, showcasing her artistic gymnastics skills, perfromed a cartwheel mid-air before throwing a perfect strike to Rangers second baseman Justin Foscue, who sat behind the home plate as the backstop.

Ludacris, meanwhile, brought his big arms back to throw the low ball to the Braves makeshift coach behind the plate.

The Atlanta Braves headed into Wednesday night's game after taking Game 1 3-0. They continued on the winning track as they took down the Rockies 5-2 on three RBIs by Jarred Kelenic and a dominant performance from the mound by Charlie Morton.

In the other game, it was all to play for between the Rangers and the Yankees. The Bombers had taken Game 1 8-4, while Texas took Game 2 7-4.

In the series finale on Wednesday, the Rangers came out on top 10-6, thanks to multiple RBIs by Adolis Garcia, rookie Wyatt Langford and Ezequiel Duran, while Nathan Eovaldi led the charge of the bullpen.

While both games had exciting endings, the talk of the town was the bizarre ceremonial pictures MLB fans saw in the day.

---

Some of the strangest MLB first pitches over the years

A dino raptor threw the inaugural first pitch ahead of a Padres game in the 2014 MLB season, which enthralled the crowd.

In 2011, an acrobatic stunt performer from Cirque du Soleil performed a 360-degree backflip before throwing the pitch at Petco Park ahead of a Padres game.

A big foot threw the ceremonial pitch at Oracle Park ahead of a Giants game in 2017.

WWE wrestler Billy Goldberg threw the inaugural pitch ahead of a Miami Marlins game at Loan Depot Park, soon after which he speared a person on field. It was a zombie apocalypse inside Petco Park after a Walking Dead cast member threw the first pitch ahead of a Padres game.

Paddington, the bear, threw the ceremonial first pitch inside Wrigley Field, while Darth Vader threw the first pitch twice, once inside Tropicana Field ahead of a Rays game and the second at Loan Depot Park ahead of a Marlins game.

Emirates cabin crew members threw the first pitch ahead of a Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium in the 2016 MLB season. Another pitch inside Dodger Stadium was by the candy monster, while former tennis ace Coco Vandeweghe served up the first pitch from the mound at Tropicana Field.