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Steelers QB Throwing First Pitch at Pirates Game

New Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson will revive his baseball career for a night.

Stephen Thompson

Pittsburgh Steelers
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PITTSBURGH -- Newly minted Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson has just gotten his offseason conditioning regemine underway with his new team and now he'll work on endearing himself to his new city.

Wilson, the presumed starter for the Steelers heading into the 2024 season, will greet the public in Pittsburgh for the first time this weekend, when he throws the ceremonial first pitch for the Pirates before they host the Red Sox in game one of a three-game set.

Wilson is no stranger to first pitches or the baseball diamond in general. Before he was an NFL star, Wilson was a promising baseball prospect. He was drafted in the 41st round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles but Wilson elected to play football and baseball at NC State instead. He was drafted again in 2010 by the Colorado Rockies in the foruth round and decided it was worth it to give baseball a try.

He bounced around minor league affiliates for the next few years, spending time at different levels of the Rockies farm system before informing the club in 2012 that he would be pursuing a professional football career. The Texas Rangers aquired him in the Rule 5 Draft afterwards and he was later traded to the Yankees in 2018. Wilson made one appearance for the Yankees during spring training in 2018, fulfilling a promise to his dad that he would one day wear the pinstripes.

Wilson will revive his baseball career again for another night when he makes his first appearance at PNC Park this weekend.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.