This Jewish comedian hopes to set a new baseball record

• Published date: 12 April 2024
• Author: LUKE TRESS/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Four days later, on Sunday, he will ascend the mound nearly 1,000 miles to the south on the home field of the Jacksonville JumboShrimp. Three days after that he'll do the same at First Horizon Park, home of the Nashville Sounds

And from May 8 to 12 he will step on the rubber at four different stadiums in the greater Chicago area. None of them belong to the city's American League team, the White Sox, though he will get on the mound for the Cubs - the South Bend Cubs, that is, a minor-league affiliate for the franchise that plays in Wrigley Field.

Levine, a New York City-based comedian, is embarking on this odyssey across dozens of minor league ballparks (and, to be fair, a good number of big-league stadiums) in pursuit of an obscure record: the most ceremonial opening pitches thrown by one person in one baseball season.

"I was just doomscrolling one night, and thought of it and checked to see if there was a record," Levine, 34, told the New York Jewish Week.

He figured a small-town mayor somewhere must have set a lifetime record for first pitches, but found nothing. So he contacted the Guinness Book of Records, whose representatives told him it had set a benchmark of 40 pitches to qualify for the record - which is so far unclaimed. The Guinness Book of Records confirmed to the New York Jewish Week that it was monitoring an attempt at the record.

Levine hopes to throw 50 first pitches this season. "A million cold emails and cold calls later I'm sitting outside of Dunkin' Donuts Park," the Yard Goats' stadium, he said.

In addition to setting the record, Levine hopes to raise $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit that grants "wishes" - dream gifts or experiences - to children with severe illnesses. Wishes cost an average of $10,000 each, and he'll ask fans to donate at each park he visits, as well as on social media, where he has 27,000 Instagram followers and more than 118,000 on TikTok.

For Levine, the connection is personal. He was 10 years old when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a type of cancer that forms tumors in bones and soft tissue. He underwent two years of chemotherapy, followed by 15 years of procedures to reconstruct his leg, and is now cancer-free.

A comedian's journey

One bright spot in the ordeal was his experience with Make-A-Wish, which helped kick off his career in comedy. Levine was granted a wish, and opted to perform a stand-up show, opening for Jim Gaffigan at Carolines on Broadway Comedy Club in Manhattan when...