Russell Wilson plays quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, moonlights as a member of the New York Yankees organization, and is trying to bring an MLB team to Portland. Despite being a very busy professional athlete, he still had enough time to throw out the first pitch at the Seattle Mariners' game against the Boston Red Sox on Friday. Despite being a professional quarterback, the first pitch did not go well.
It wasn't quite at 50 Cent's level -- OK, so it wasn't even close to being that bad -- but it definitely wasn't the first pitch you'd expect from an NFL quarterback. With Felix Hernandez catching, Wilson saw his pitch bounce a couple feet before reaching home plate. Luckily, Hernandez picked the errant pitch with ease, saving Wilson from a wild pitch.
Here it is:
If only Wilson had bounced his final throw of Super Bowl XLIX ... but I digress. Anyway, Wilson's poor throw came as a surprise given his primary profession (thrower of footballs) and because of his history with first pitches. In 2013, Wilson's first pitch at a Mariners game reached 75 mph (according to the Mariners broadcast) and bordered the strike zone.
This is how it's done:
Speaking of getting it done, the Mariners won on Friday and again on Saturday, which pushed their record to 46-25. Is this finally the year the Mariners overtake the rebuilding resetting Seahawks as Seattle's best team? The Seahawks missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2011 while the Mariners haven't made the playoffs since 2001.
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