Snoop Dogg mocks Stephen A. Smith's horrendous first pitch at Yankees Stadium: "There's not one athletic bone in your body"
Last week, TV sports personality Stephen A. Smith was invited by the New York Yankees to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. While Smith's delivery was not the worst , it was bad enough to attract mockery from some pretty high-profile names.
Smith, a native of The Bronx, appears frequently on ESPN as an NBA analyst. While he never played the game competitively, his performance on Thursday led some to question his athletic abilities.
"Stephen A. Smith 1st pitch" - Daily Loud
The pitch preceded the Yankees' game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 22. Throwing from the rubber, Smith's delivery landed several feet short of home plate and bounced into the glove of the catcher.
At least Stephen A. Smith was good-natured about his subpar delivery. After the game, the NBA analyst quipped that he threw a "changeup", showing that at least Smith has some sense of humor.
Additionally, Smith consoled himself by claiming that "it was the plus" that his delivery was not as bad as some other public figures. One of the names he referenced was rap artist Snoop Dogg, who saw his ceremonial first pitch sail several feet wide of home plate ahead of a 2016 San Diego Padres game.
Amidst the furore, ESPN posted an entertaining video on Instagram that featured several guests making fun of Stephen A. Smith. Among them, was Snoop Dogg, who pulled no punches in his lambasting of Smith's pitching performance at the Yankee Stadium.
Snoop appeared in a split screen alongside Smith, who has laughing heartily as the rap superstar laid into him. According to Snoop, Smith "does not have one athletic bone in his body" as he also compared the toss to a basketball bounce pass.
Stephen A. Smith stands in a very familiar situation for pitch-throwing public figures
Over the years, the MLB has seen a litany of terrible ceremonial first pitches. As such, Smith can quite rightly take solace in the fact that his delivery was far from the worst.
However, when scores of New York Yankees fans see how bad your pitch was, it's difficult to not feel some amount of shame. In Smith's defense, his pitch was markedly better than Snoop Dogg's 2017 delivery.
That's even if Snoop's criticism is one of the funnier MLB-related roasts that we have seen so far in the 2023 season.