Stephen A. Smith wasn’t the only one disgusted with his first pitch Thursday at the Yankees-Blue Jays game.
The “First Take” host was trolled mercilessly by his fellow ESPN colleagues after his pitch in the Bronx looked more like a bounce pass in the NBA.
“You have got to be freaking kidding me @stephenasmith,” ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky wrote on X (formerly Twitter), including a video of Smith on the mound in the Bronx.
“This is worse than I imagined and you make fun of me for running out the end zone!”
Orlovsky was referring to the infamous play when the former Lions signal-caller ran out of the back of the end zone in 2008 in a game against the Vikings, resulting in a safety.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith channeled 50 Cent in his first pitch Thursday at the Yankees-Blue Jays game. Getty ImagesNFL insider Adam Schefter compared Smith, a diehard Yankees fan, to 50 Cent, who had his own viral moment on the mound at Citi Field in 2014.
“Stephen A. Smith’s first pitch at Yankees Stadium might rival 50 Cent’s first pitch at Citi Field,” Schefter wrote.
50 Cent was just a bit outside on his first pitch at Citi Field in 2014. APThe rapper threw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the Mets-Pirates game and nearly hit the camera man when the ball took a sharp left away from the catcher.
“Didn’t we talk about this this morning?” asked NFL analyst Damien Woody, while ESPN Radio’s Peter Rosenberg wrote, “Lol, the aim though.”
Marcus Spears and Robert Griffin III, both NFL analysts with ESPN, had a good laugh over Smith’s first pitch.
You Bot!!!” Spears wrote on X, adding a bunch of crying-laughing emojis.
Griffin reposted Schefter’s message with a few crying-laughing emojis and a meme with a sign that read: “They finna drag you.”
Smith, who wore a No. 2 Derek Jeter jersey, claimed his first pitch was meant to be “a changeup!” in a post on X.
“I was disgusted with myself man,” Smith said in the YES Network broadcast booth after the pitch, adding that he felt as though the plate was a mile away. “I choked.”
The outspoken broadcaster also claimed he was throwing strikes while warming up, and that Jeter instructed him not to botch the pitch.
Stephen A. Smith throws a ceremonial first pitch before the first inning of the game between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Getty ImagesAfter the pitch, Smith put his head down and laughed.
Meanwhile, boos rang out from the crowd at Yankee Stadium.
As for the real baseball the took place on Thursday night?
The Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 5-3, likely clinching the American League Cy Young Award for New York ace Gerrit Cole, who struck out nine over eight innings and lowered his ERA to 2.75.
