The former Chelsea star was the special guest at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, as he threw the first pitch to kick-off the MLB game between the LA Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs.

Cole, who won three Premier League titles during his time at Stamford Bridge, was granted an exclusive tour of the stadium, met and chatted with players and coaches and posed for photos in front of a very welcoming crowd.

Joe was given a standing ovation when he stepped out onto the pitch, throwing down a few practice pitches before doing it for real with Dodgers star Jason Turner.

We caught up with our former midfielder moments after he had thrown the first pitch to ask him about the experience, but first he commented on just how welcoming everyone connected to the Dodgers was towards him.

‘We’ve been so welcomed here from everyone at the club, it’s been fantastic,’ Joe told us.

‘It’s a very impressive set up here and I think it’s going to be the start of a fantastic relationship between Chelsea and the Dodgers.

‘You can get crossovers between sports, but I see a lot of similarities here. Listen, Chelsea want to win championships and so do the Dodgers. Both clubs have a winning mentality and with the new ownership coming in, that won’t change.

‘It’s been a great experience and I’d just like to thank everyone at the Dodgers for making me – and Chelsea – feel so welcome.’

Before we let Joe go, we had to ask him about that pitch and how he felt stepping up to the base.

‘I’ll be honest, I was pretty nervous!’ Joe explained.

‘It’s an incredible stadium here with plenty of people watching, so I felt the pressure a little, I won’t lie!

‘It’s the first time I’ve done anything like that but I really enjoyed it and like I said earlier, the people behind the scenes were so good to me it made me feel really part of things today. It was nice.’