Throwing Out the First Pitch Can Put You in a Real Jam

Aug. 31 was ODU Night at the Norfolk Tides' International League baseball game, and more than 400 alumni were on hand to witness the festivities at Harbor Park, where the crowd exceeded 7,000.

As president, I was asked to throw out the first ball, along with athletic director Wood Selig, men's basketball coach Blaine Taylor and women's basketball coach Karen Barefoot.

Knowing I was going to do this, I spent about 15 minutes with ODU baseball pitching coach Tim Lavigne on Friday afternoon so I would not turn my opportunity into a YouTube moment for students and alumni to witness.

Tim told me to pitch from the stretch, line up with the catcher and forget about the crowd. So, I did.

Presidents get to throw first, so I headed to the mound. I squared up, looked at the Tides catcher, reared back and fired .... It was high and outside, but I reached the plate.

Next went coach Taylor. He pretended to look a runner back to first, and then looped a throw to the catcher. It wasn't a strike either, plus it was slower, so I was still thinking that my wife, Kate, looking on from the stands, was proud of me.

Next out of the bullpen was coach Barefoot. She wasted little time and threw a strike right down the middle. The crowd roared.

Finally, it was Dr. Selig's turn. He kicked his leg like Luis Tiant, but then threw a pitch that bounced in front of the plate. The ceremonial first pitches were over.

Based on the Summer Olympics rating system, Karen captured the gold, I won the silver and Blaine the bronze.

All in all, it was a fun night ... until I read my email and realized how many people were there who had direct access to my account and wanted to remind me that coach Barefoot had the best throw of the four of us.

As the night ended, I was relieved, however, that I didn't have to read Dr. Selig's email.