New York Yankees great Paul O’Neill was in the Bronx on Tuesday night to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 4 of the World Series.
With former Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett serving as his catcher, O’Neill tried to make sure he didn’t short hop the pitch from the mound. It seems he put a little too much muscle on his throw, as it went sailing way over the head of Burnett and into the backstop.
The crowd couldn’t mask its surprise over O’Neill’s errant throw, and clearly the 61-year-old wasn’t pleased with his performance, either.
Paul O’Neill throws tonight’s ceremonial first pitches in the general direction of A.J. Burnett: pic.twitter.com/kZs7WgLUlp
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 30, 2024
Before leaving the mound, O’Neill could be seen gesturing to Burnett to throw the ball back to him, and proceeded to throw another ceremonial first pitch. This one had more velocity behind it and a lot less arc, and it bounced just before reaching Burnett’s mitt.
While fans won’t be forgetting the first pitch that sailed past Burnett, O’Neill wasn’t going to let himself go out like that, promptly demanding the do-over in order to provide a better pitch.
