Stephen A. Smith Defends Terrible First Pitch With Warm-Up Video

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Toronto Blue Jays v New York Yankees
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 21: American TV personality 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. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Stephen A. is refusing to take the L on this one.

Stephen A. Smith has attempted to deflect criticism of his terrible first pitch at last night's Yankees game in a video posted this morning. In the video, Smith is seen to a child in catcher's gear near the dugout. This was presumably the warm up for his first pitch. However, there are just a few problems with the video. Firstly, Smith's form is just terrible for a pitcher. Secondly, he appears to be much closer to his catcher than the pitcher's mound is to home plate. Thirdly, and most importantly, just because you through some strikes beforehand doesn't mean your first pitch didn't suck.

Smith's pitch barely made it to the dirt in front of home plate, let alone anywhere resembling the strike zone. What has made this incident all the more funny is just how confident Smith has previously been about acing his first pitch. Earlier this year, Smith went on a mini-rant on First Take in which he extolled the perceived excellence of his hypothetical first pitch. "I would throw a strike," Smith told his co-hosts back in July. However, no amount of practice throws is going to make up for the fact that Smith choked about as hard as the Yankees have this year.

Stephen A. Happy To Be Single

In non-failure news, Smith also recently boasted about how he's happy to be single. "I'm 55 years old. I've never been married and I'm happy about it. Now, one could easily surmise that a past rife with some degree of promiscuity might, dare I say, contribute to my desire to be single. But that's not the reason. I am not upset about being single. Jeezy, how he filed for divorce from his wife, Jeannie Mai, after only two years, former friends are saying she's after his money. If Kevin Costner's monthly child support entitles the children to maintain their quality of life, why should he have to pay to maintain the quality of life for the wife that's no longer with him?" Smith recently said on his podcast.

In classic Stephen A. fashion, he kind of loses his point towards the end of the rant. However, as best we can tell, Stephen is happy to be single. Furthermore, part of that is because he doesn't want to get his bank account drained if things end in divorce. Smith has two daughters and was once engaged but things "didn't work out".

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About The Author
Benjamin Mock (they/them) is a sports and culture writer working out of Philadelphia. Previously writing for the likes of Fixture, Dexerto, Fragster, and Jaxon, Ben has dedicated themselves to engaging and accessible articles about sports, esports, and internet culture. With a love for the weirder stories, you never quite know what to expect from their work.
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