Giants Baseball Insider

Review: Athletes from other sports throwing first pitches at SF Giants games

Brandin Podziemski threw a nice first pitch at an SF Giants game Thursday. How he does his pitching compare with other athletes?

Sean Keane

Review: Athletes from other sports throwing first pitches at SF Giants games
Review: Athletes from other sports throwing first pitches at SF Giants games /
In this story:

The SF Giants welcomed Golden State Warriors first-round pick Brandin Podziemski to the ballpark on Thursday, where he showed that three-point shooting wasn't the only place he could show off his accuracy.

Overall, that's an impressive pitch, reportedly hitting 86 MPH on the radar gun. It may have sailed slightly high, but when you're throwing a ceremonial first pitch with no warmup, you want to miss high, rather than bounce your pitch in the dirt.

Podziemski is also a left-hander, which means in theory, there's always a place for him in a major league bullpen. Would Podz really have been much worse than Jake McGee was last season? Standing 6'5" doesn't hurt either.

If he were a Giant, Podziemski would have to work some occasional games as an opener. But as his GM doesn't expect him to play at all, you'd think the rookie out of Santa Clara would be thrilled to start.

It's clearly one of the strongest first pitches you'll see. But how does it compare to other athletes who have delivered a first pitch at a Giants game?

Colin Kaepernick, SF 49ers

The former 49ers quarterback and current civil rights activist was a star pitcher in high school, getting more scholarship offers for baseball than he did for football. The Chicago Cubs even drafted him in the 43rd round in 2009, while Kaepernick was playing quarterback at the University of Nevada.

In 2013, fresh off leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl, Kaepernick really let it fly. He hit 87 MPH, but his pitch would have decapitated anyone in the batter's box. Look if you're familiar with Kaepernick's politics, it should be no surprise that the pitch veered way to the left.

Donte DiVincenzo, Golden State Warriors

Last September, the Warriors new signee Donte DiVincenzo threw out the first pitch. While it's impossible to find footage of the pitch, he later told Gary Payton II it "didn't go so good." You can however see that DiVincenzo chose to wear cargo pants for his big night. You know, in case he had to carry a bunch of stuff out to the mound.

The Michael Jordan of Delaware did throw a solid first pitch at a Milwaukee Brewers game in 2018. No hesitation, quick release, right over the plate - no wonder the Knicks gave him $50 million. It's almost certainly a better investment than Carlos Rodon's deal.

If his Warriors tenure is any indication, DiVincenzo would be likely to throw four strikes in a row, then miss the strike zone six times. But he'd aggressively pursue the rebound from the catcher's glove and box out the home plate umpire surprisingly well for a guard. 

Mo'ne Davis, Little League World Series star

Before Game 4 of the 2014 World Series, Davis threw out the first pitch. From the rubber.

That summer, Davis became the first girl in history to pitch a shutout at the Little League World Series, and she showed why with this scorcher of a first pitch. But she won over the crowd before she released the ball, by backing up from the usual ceremonial spot and throwing from the actual mound - a rare 60-fooot, six-inch first pitch. 

Fred Warner, Azeez Al-Shaair & Dre Greenlaw, SF 49ers

The Giants actually hosted the 49ers' entire linebacking corps last June, but only starters Fred Warner, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Dre Greenlaw got  to throw the first pitches. The Giants got Gabe Kapler and Brandon Crawford to help catch the soft tosses, but we can learn two things from the video.

One is that Dre Greenlaw is left-handed. The second is that Fred Warner can apparently juggle. He really is the most versatile linebacker in football! Perhaps inspired by their outing to Oracle Park, the 49ers seem to be incorporating juggling drills from their linebackers in training camp this year.

Content is unavailable

Gary Payton II, Golden State Warriors

GPII was a two-sport star in high school, but in basketball and swimming, not baseball. He's one of the rare players who throws lefty but hits righty - just like Madison Bumgarner. For his first pitch back in June, he looked like he was going to do a leg kick during his delivery, but bailed out and settled for a modest sweep-the-leg kick instead.

Like Payton skying for an alley-oop, his pitch also went improbably high, though Brandon Crawford did a solid job of pitch framing. But the important thing was that "Young Glove" reached the plate, he didn't embarrass himself, and the Warriors didn't have to consult with the Portland Trail Blazers' medical staff afterward.  

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, US Airways 

While Captain Sully might not be what you imagine for an athlete, landing a plane in the Hudson River requires a great deal of strength and clutch performance. And like Randy Johnson in spring training, Sully accidentally killed a bird.

A few months after his water landing, Danville native Sully threw out the first pitch on Opening Day in 2009. We appreciate that Sully attempted a windup, but that pitch had about as much power as US Airways Flight 1549 after geese got sucked into both engines.

But we also have to credit Sully's good karma with helping the Giants. Coming off a 72-win season, the team improved by 16 games after Sully's pitch. A year later, they did something even more impossible than ditching a plane without losing any of the 155 passengers: Winning a World Series in San Francisco.

Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors (Yomiuri Giants)

The Warriors two-time MVP threw a pitch at a Giants game - but it was the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, Japan. While the pitch dropped out of the strike zone late, the third quarter of the pitch had quite a bit of break to it.

Should American baseball add a batter to the ceremonial first pitch? Or is that just asking for someone to get badly hurt by a pitch from 50 Cent?

Or by Curry himself. He did well in Japan, but domestically, he basically air balled his first pitch at an A's game last summer alongside his wife, Ayesha.

Who will be the next athlete to throw out a first pitch at Oracle Park? The logical choice would be a member of the US Women's National Team after their heartbreaking World Cup loss. But perhaps none of them are ready for an activity that requires accuracy just yet.

Published
Sean Keane
SEAN KEANE

Sean Keane (he/him) is a writer, stand-up, and co-host of the Roundball Rock NBA podcast. He wrote for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” his work has appeared in McSweeney's, Audible.com, and Yardbarker, and he's performed at countless festivals, including SF Sketchfest, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, RIOT LA, and NoisePop. In 2014, the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Sean an “Outstanding Local Discovery,” and promptly went out of business.

Home/San Francisco Giants News