Myke Towers throws out 1st pitch at Wrigley

CHICAGO -- A smile stretched across young slugger Christopher Morel’s face as he walked across the infield before Saturday’s game against the Reds at Wrigley Field.

When Morel reached the area near the Cubs’ on-deck circle, he reached out to embrace one of his favorite musicians: Puerto Rican rapper and songwriter Myke Towers.

“Super special,” Morel said. “I’ve never seen this Puerto Rican singer, and I don’t [get to] meet him all the time. This is special to see him this one time at Wrigley Field.”

Towers is in Chicago this weekend to perform at the Sueños Music Festival in Grant Park. The trip also afforded him the chance to visit Wrigley Field and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Saturday’s game.

It marked Towers’ first visit to the Friendly Confines, though he’s no stranger to Chicago sports.

“It has a lot of history that I know,” Towers said. “I’m enjoying Chicago at the fullest. This is the city from Michael Jordan. He’s my favorite player, my favorite athlete. This is a special place to me.”

That was evident as Towers wore a black Jordan brand sweatshirt on Saturday and a Cubs jersey adorned with “Myke” and the No. 23 on the back.

But while His Airness is Towers’ favorite athlete, baseball was his first love. It was the first sport he played as a kid; he was a corner outfielder.

“But now my favorite position is shortstop,” Towers said.

The Yankees, Towers' favorite team growing up, had a pretty good one for a long time in Hall of Famer Derek Jeter.

“As a little kid, everybody's a Yankee fan,” Towers said. "... But right now, I like to support the teams that got Latinos on them. We are human, but when you got a Latino or somebody from Puerto Rico, you feel that pride, so you support more. And that's what I do. I like to watch the sport and we relate. I make music, but they inspire me.”

That includes former Cubs shortstop and current Tigers star Javier Báez. “El Mago,” with his long list of highlight-reel moments at the plate, in the field and on the bases, has a fan in Towers.

“Javy Báez has got a lot of respect from myself,” Towers said. “He’s one of my favorites, Javy. He has his own identity. It’s classic, to me.”

Towers has also been paying attention to the incredible start Morel has gotten off to this season. Earlier this week, the 23-year-old became the first Cub since Sammy Sosa in 1998 to homer in five straight games.

Morel’s nine home runs in his first 12 games of 2023 are the second-most by a player to start a season since 1900, behind Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt’s 11 in 1976.

“He’s been on fire,” Towers said.

Along with Morel, Cubs infielder Edwin Ríos and starter Marcus Stroman met and struck up conversation with Towers, and Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay is also a Towers fan.

“I've been listening to Myke Towers probably since 2019 consistently,” Alzolay said. “I just like his style, the way he sings. He has some pretty good lyrics in his songs. That's what I like about him.”

Towers threw out a ceremonial first pitch once before, at a Miami Marlins game. He said he learned after that time he needed to throw it a little stronger.

“This time, I bet you I'm going to throw a strike,” Towers said.

Sure enough, Towers painted the outside corner of the right-hander’s batter’s box -- with Alzolay catching and holding a perfect frame.