Going to the mound, I jumped over the foul line, made sure I had the right grip, and reminded myself to throw easy. I did not feel nervous. After getting to the mound, I don’t remember Abby’s introduction until “Give it your best”.
Scott is a big target, and it looked closer than what I practiced.
Thursday evening before the Virginia-Maryland baseball game on March 24, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Bob Hagan of the UVA Club of Fredericksburg sent me an email. He asked me if I wanted to throw out the first pitch at the game. I was in Richmond with Owen and didn’t see it until Friday morning, so that I could text him back. If he had asked earlier, I would have thrown some with Owen.
My return text was “thx for asking about throwing the first pitch. I’d be honored to. Will they give me enough time to warm up my arm?”
He responded, “Great! It is fun and truly in front of the mound, so it is just a toss. Sadly, no ‘bullpen’ time is allotted 🙂 But they give you the ball marked “First Pitch” with Nats logo regardless of whether it is a strike, ball or wild pitch.”
Oh crap, no warm up, I hope I can get it to home plate and not do a Monty Burns. I guess I’d better practice. I wasn’t sure where.
I played organized baseball from age 9 to 18. Well, not really, the date for age determination for organized leagues was July 31. They use your age on that date for the entire season. With a July 29 date of birth, for the seasons I was 8 to 17.
I mostly played outfield and first base. Little League uses 60-foot bases, the Salt Lake City Police League used 75-foot bases, and the older leagues use regulation 90-foot bases. In college ball, the pitching rubber is 60’6″ from home plate. Taking infield practice, I made a lot of throws back to the catcher at home. So, 60 feet is not that far for a young kid.
I have not thrown a ball with my grandsons since the fall of 2024. That year, I threw a football with them while tailgating. It took me a while to warm up with short throws before doing much more than 50 feet. Neither of my grandsons played baseball. The last time I threw a baseball with Owen was about 8 years ago. I do miss playing catch.
On Friday afternoon, I went to Walmart and bought two tee-balls that are softer and would work for throwing against a wall. I already had two regulation balls.
At home, I measured off 60 feet between my shed and garage and painted two white lines. I put a garbage can at the back of my yard. 60 feet looked like a long distance.
My first throw went about 30 feet. The second didn’t go much further and was “just outside”. I was trying to throw the ball on a line, which at 69 may not have been the best approach. On my next two throws, I tried a little arch, which hit the tree branches overhanging my field.
I trimmed the branches back until a higher throw could reach the garbage can. I had to chase the balls into the thicket behind the can and under my shed. My first day of practice did not go well.
My yard is 50 feet wide, as is my neighbor’s. We have no dividing fence on the boundary. The neighbor has no bushes in their backyard—just a stockade fence bordering their adjoining neighbor’s yard. On Saturday, I measured a mound in my yard to a point 60 feet into the neighbor’s yard. I put the can in place and set some cardboard in place to block some holes in the fence.
I did 20 throws on Saturday, walking 10 feet closer for the final four. I never hit the can on the fly.
I did 20 more throws on Sunday, again walking 10 feet closer for the final four. I hit the can one out of 20. I may be throwing too hard as the balls were going everywhere, in the dirt, a little inside, and outside. I had more control with the heavier regulation balls. I only had one more day of practice.
For Monday, I changed my grip from a four-seam fastball grip to a two-seam grip. Fastball? I changed my mindset to “you don’t have to throw hard.” I knew I was not strong enough to air mail a pitch. I just needed to get it to the can. So what if there is a little eephus on the throw?
I did 20 more throws on Monday, with the final four from 50 feet. I hit the can many times, more with the regulation balls. I felt confident that I would not embarrass myself or the school. “Just relax and throw easy”.
The UVA Club of Fredericksburg was resurrected in the spring of 2025. Bob is spearheading the effort. The last time I was involved with the club was in the early 1980s. Of course, I volunteered to help with the club organization. I’m making sure I don’t overcommit. I was disappointed with the club’s activity at last year’s game and recommended that the club reserve the 3rd-base sky porch.
I needed to meet Bob at the porch at 4:45. The gates to the stadium opened at 4:30.
I’m frugal and did not want to pay $8 for parking. I left home at 4 pm and parked behind Fleet Feet by 4:15. The 3/4 mile walk to the stadium took me about 15 minutes.
I got to the stadium just after the gates opened and headed to the sky porch. I watched some of Maryland’s batting practice. I never sat at this angle and didn’t realize they were throwing from 30 feet.
Bob arrived at 4:45, and a few minutes later, we went down to the area to the right of the third-base dugout and talked with the event staff.
At about 5:15, we went onto the field and met the announcer, Abby. Luckily, I reviewed her notes as she had “VCU Club of Fredericksburg” rather than “UVA Club”. Oops.
A couple of seconds later, Scott Clore, the UVA Head Student Manager, came over. As is typical with all team field staff, he was in uniform. That is a tradition handed down from the time of player-coaches. All the players were in their final meeting in left field. Scott was the first-pitch catcher, a third-year Econ major.
About ready to start, we didn’t have a ball. There was one left over from batting practice lying near the dugout. The ball was labeled “Official Minor League Baseball”. Is that the ball that colleges use, or just in batting practice?
Abby gave us our final instructions. To Scott, “In front of the batter’s boxes”. To me, “In front of the mound, do not go on the dirt”. To both, “When entering the field, do not step on the foul line”. Is that a bad luck thing? “After an introduction, I’ll say, give it your best”.
I gave it my best; I didn’t air-mail it or throw it into the dirt. My arched throw was on target, and Scott didn’t have to move his feet. That was easy. Scott came out and gave me the ball.
We took a few pictures, including some with Gus.
Over my 69 years, I’ve attended many professional baseball games. I have never taken a ball home from a game. When I was 12 in Salt Lake City, the rookie league team retrieved balls from the stands and swapped balls for a future game coupon. I kept the ball, the first one I had taken home from a game.
Is an accurate first pitch a good omen for the home team?
About the game: Heading into the bottom of the seventh, Maryland had a 6 to 5 lead. Virginia scored two runs to take the lead. Then, Virginia put up a 9-spot in the bottom of the eighth for a run-rule walk-off win.
A good night for the good guys.