Fogel To Throw Out First Pitch At Pirates’ Home Opener

April 3, 2025 4:58 am

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marc Fogel, a Pittsburgh-area school teacher who was deemed wrongfully held in a Russian prison for years before being freed in February, will throw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener against the New York Yankees. Fogel is from Butler, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school. He was handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. in February.