Bucks' Pat Connaughton throws out first pitch that doesn't live up to his MLB draftee status
If a batter were in the box for Milwaukee Bucks’ guard Pat Connaughton’s ceremonial first pitch Wednesday, he would have felt “Fear the Deer” in an unintended way.
Connaughton followed up the Bucks’ game 2 victory to even the Eastern Conference series by making an appearance at Miller Park for the Milwaukee Brewers’ game against the Colorado Rockies. The 26-year-old is one of the rare athletes to be drafted twice: once by the MLB’s Baltimore Orioles in 2014 and then again by the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets in 2015.
He chose the NBA, so far spending three years with the Portland Trail Blazers and this past one with Milwaukee, forgoing a potential pitching career. He’s averaging 7.7 points per game in the playoffs.
Connaughton’s return to a mound went worse than one would expect.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton was a former MLB draft pick.
At least the form of his first pitch was good? 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/3XQOa68h4d— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 2, 2019
Connaughton said he had “strict instructions to keep it to a light 80 (mph)” during an in-game interview with FOX Sports Wisconsin and explained why it may have gotten away from him.
“A little excitement, you know what I mean?” Connaughton said. “Maybe not the proper warm-up, maybe not the proper adjustment throwing off a mound. It’s been a while.
Let’s just say I would have brushed back a few right-handed batters.”
“Arm’s great. The accuracy wasn’t there,” Connaughton told coaches in a behind-the-scenes video shared by the Bucks.
Connaughton was a fourth-round pick for the Orioles out of Notre Dame and received a $428,000 signing bonus. He pitched six games for the short-season Class A team in Maryland, putting up a 2.51 ERA over 14 1/3 innings.
The Orioles hold his rights through 2020, though he may want to keep his current day job.
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