Stephen A. Smith ‘Disgusted’ with Himself After His Bad First Pitch at Yankees Game: ‘It Was a Choke Job’

The ESPN personality admitted he “can do better than that” after bouncing the ball before it reached home plate

Stephen A. Smith is not happy with his performance on the mound.

The ESPN personality, 55, threw out the first pitch before the New York Yankees’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night — and it did not go as he planned.

Smith shared a video on Twitter (now known as X), where he’s seen walking from the stadium to the field wearing a Derek Jeter jersey.

“Almost time,” he captioned the post.

In a follow up video, the First Take host tells his fans on the field while holding a baseball that he’s “a little nervous.”

“I mean, I’m warming up,” Smith said in the video. “And I got a few pitches, but all it takes is one mistake. One mistake and that could mess up everything, so I’m a little worried about it. But my man, Derek Jeter, gave me inspiration. He told me, 'Don't F this up.’ ”

But when it was time to throw, Smith grounded the pitch well before reaching the home plate, rolling the ball into the strike zone where Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka picked it up.

Smith's coworker and ESPN sports analyst Marcus Spears commented on social media, writing, "Bruh did he really?"

Molly Qerim, Smith’s ESPN colleague, shared the video on Twitter (now known as X), captioning the post with, “WAS THAT A BOUNCE PASS??????”

Smith replied, “It was a changeup!”

Awful Announcing shared a video on social media showing Smith in the broadcast booth discussing his performance.

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"I was disgusted with myself, man,” Smith recalled. “Let me tell you something, I was warming up down there, I was throwing strikes from 60 feet away. And I got on that mound, and it looked like it was a mile away. I said, 'What the hell am I doing here?' There's no excuse. It was a choke job. I should do better than that. Stephen A. choked a little bit. I just did. It was straight, but damn it, I per."

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Smith isn't alone, though, in botched first pitches. In April, two-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce threw the first pitch in his hometown at the Cleveland Guardians game against the Seattle Mariners.

Related: Los Angeles Dodgers Pitcher Reunites With His Mom at Game After 'Difficult' 7 Years Apart

The ball hit the ground and sprang up after the NFL star hurled it with force, making Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber duck for safety. Afterwards, Kelce — who redeemed the pitch months later at a Kansas City Royals game — made a friendly gesture by embracing Bieber with a hug.

Sharing sports anchor Harold R. Kuntz's clip on Twitter (now known as X), the tight end wrote, "Been spiking a football for the past 10 years… can you tell? 😂😂😂😂"

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