Victor Wembanyama was in New York ahead of Thursday’s 2023 NBA draft, in which he’s projected to be the No. 1 pick by the Spurs.
Wembanyama was invited to Yankee Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the Yankees’ clash against the Mariners on Tuesday.
With all eyes on him, Wembanyama absolutely misfired on his first pitch, missing the target, Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson, wide to the left.
Despite expressing confidence ahead of his appearance on the mound, the 19-year-old can now add his name to the ever-growing list of disastrous first pitches at MLB games. And he wasn’t spared by fans on social media in the aftermath.
The wildly wayward first pitch stirred up a flurry of reactions on Twitter, as fans instantly recognized that baseball is far from second nature to the Frenchman.
Another awful first pitch for the collection pic.twitter.com/qYbH2vg49i
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 20, 2023
"I'm gonna do the first pitch... I'm confident" pic.twitter.com/T3oOvK0s7o
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 20, 2023
Should have just reached out and dropped it in the catcher's glove https://t.co/PcyYn6r9BH
— Daren Stoltzfus WESH (@DarenStoltzfus) June 20, 2023
WEMBY NOOOOOO! https://t.co/ockLugxyzk
— Terrence Oglesby (@T_Oglesby22) June 20, 2023
Isn’t it funny how even the best athletes can’t throw a baseball lol https://t.co/26XLg4CjdA
— B (@bhurson) June 20, 2023
Just a bit outside https://t.co/p0QpNUt9PN
— Darcy Armstrong (@DArm91) June 20, 2023
Oh no
— The Morning Run Podcast (@MorningRun8) June 20, 2023
good thing Wemby's not planning on pitching for the Spurs https://t.co/YkCKy3scQo
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 20, 2023
If I ever did a first pitch it would not be two days before I started making tens of millions of dollars and I would practice https://t.co/KnBZsa2MNQ
— Eric Medlin (@MedlinWrites) June 20, 2023
Hopefully, Wembanyama’s ability to adapt in the NBA comes a bit more seamlessly for him than firing a strike off an MLB mound.
