NOT AN EASY TOSS
Ken Hoffman on how to throw the perfect big league first pitch
Jun 10, 2019, 11:01 am
Photo by Michelle Watson/CultureMapSnap
J.J. Watt delivered a perfect pitch. Other celebs, not so much.
This article originally appeared on CultureMap.
By now, everybody's seen the video of the poor Chicago White Sox employee of the month who won the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Sox game. Her toss was, in the words of Bob Uecker, "just a bit outside."
She hit a photographer who was standing to her left, in a different time zone from home plate. It was one of the worst, funniest ceremonial first pitches ever. There was rapper 50 Cent, who missed the plate by a country mile, Michael Jordan, who threw the pitch 10 feet over the catcher's head, and Houston's Olympic hero Carl Lewis, whose baseball pitch was almost as horrible as his singing pitch.
Mariah Carey wore high heels and threw the ball straight down.
Pitchin' ain't easy
To fans in the stands, and people watching on TV, throwing the ceremonial pitch looks easy. What's so difficult about tossing a baseball 60 feet, 6 inches to a catcher? It's not like there's a hitter up there. You're basically just playing catch in your backyard.
It's simple, no excuse for throwing the ceremonial first anywhere other than right over the plate. That's the point I may have made several years ago in a column. I could do it, no sweat, with my eyes closed.
Your pitcher...Ken Hoffman
The Houston Astros called me on it. Okay, hot shot, how about you throw the ceremonial first pitch next week? The Dodgers will be in town, and there will be a big crowd.
I accept — on one condition. I don't want some assistant bullpen coach who wears No. 84 catching for me. I want either (Astros owner) Drayton McLane or (TV analyst) Jim Deshaies.
The Astros called back: Deshaies says he'll do it.
The reason most people throw the ceremonial first pitch into the dirt is because they're not used to throwing off a big league mound, which is higher than you'd think. The pitcher's rubber is 10 inches higher than the field. It slopes downward at the rate of one inch per foot.
Most of us are used to playing catch or co-ed softball games on flat Earth. It's the slope of the big league mound that causes mortals to stumble forward and bounce the ball toward home plate.
So … that weekend, I went to Wallin Field, home of West U Little League, and practiced throwing off a mound. I was confident that I could throw a strike across home plate at Minute Maid Park. But I also had a Plan B that would leave nothing to chance.
I got to Minute Maid Park 30 minutes before game time. An Astros media rep handed me a ball and pointed toward the mound. Some first pitchers walk to a spot in front of the mound and throw from about 45 feet on flat ground. Weenies.
I brought my son Andrew and his friend, also Andrew, with me to the mound. Then two things happened that threw me off: I heard the announcer say my name, and I turned and saw my name on the scoreboard. That brought it home, and I suddenly got nervous and scared: what if I throw the ball straight into the ground?
Continue reading on CultureMap to find out how Ken Hoffman's first pitch went.
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Miguel Andujar and Shea Langeliers homered in the first inning, J.T. Ginn threw six shutout innings and the Athletics beat the Houston Astros 7-1 on Sunday to sweep the four-game series.
Starting in the leadoff spot for the first time in his nine-year career, Andujar homered on Colton Gordon’s fifth pitch. With two out, Langeliers sent a 3-0 fastball over the train tracks in left for his 17th home run of the season.
Langeliers has homered in three straight games for the first time in his career. He went 2 for 4 with two runs.
Ginn (2-2) held the Astros to three hits in his longest start of the season. He struck out four without issuing a walk.
Colby Thomas went 1 for 2 with a double and the first RBI of his major league career.
Two days after becoming the first rookie in major league history to hit four home runs in a game, Nick Kurtz was given the day off. He’s batting .549 during a 13-game hitting streak.
Gordon (4-3) surrendered four runs on six hits over five innings with six strikeouts.
The A’s four-game winning streak and the Astros’ four-game losing streak match season-highs.
Key moment
Andujar’s leadoff home run.
Key stat
Houston’s opponents have scored first in a franchise-record 18 straight games, one game shy of the expansion era record set by the 1987 Orioles.
Up next
The Athletics open a three-game home series against Seattle on Monday night, with LHP JP Sears (7-8 4.98 ERA) facing RHP Luis Castillo (7-6 3.30). The Astros open a three-game home series against Washington on Monday night, with LHP Framber Valdez (11-4 2.67) opposing RHP Brad Lord (2-5 3.39