Zach Edey's First Pitch At Wrigley Was So Shockingly Bad That The Cubs Mascot Had To Do A Double Take

Juuuuustttt a bit outside.

Listen folks, it ain't that easy. I know I've made it look so in both my recent first pitches at the Tee Ball and Coaches Pitch levels (Kids Pitch video coming out later tonight), but it takes a special combination of skill and mental toughness to be able to deliver a Strike in a Ceremonial First Pitch. Even the great Zach Edey, who people dubbed the "next Randy Johnson" back in the day, succumbed to the pressure.

Look you can have all the velocity and movement you want....it's not like you're pitching 7 innings when you throw a 1st pitch. It's more of a mental thing than a physical thing, in my opinion. Can you perform at your best when you've got only one opportunity, with all eyeballs watching you? The answer for Zach Edey, unfortunately, was No. His one crack at a pitch was so bad that a left-handed batter actually would've been safe to be in the box, because the pitch would've gone BEHIND HIM.

Yikes. Are we sure the ref didn't call a Foul on this? And are we putting this one the Mount Rushmore of worst first pitches? I'd like to think not, as it's not like he's at the 50 Cent level, but shouldn't his previous baseball experience be factored in? You'd think that someone who not only shined as a Pitcher, but also has a release point about 2 feet from the plate, should be able to come closer than the dugout to the Strike Zone. Maybe that's why it got the Cubs mascot to turn around with a "what the fuck?" as he went to retrieve the ball.

To be fair, standing at 7'4, throwing a baseball for Zach Edey has to be like throwing a golf ball for the rest of us normal sized people. Maybe he outgrew being able to throw Strikes, literally. Either way, I would say this game film means that all his eggs are now in the NBA basket. I'm not sure if it doesn't work out with basketball that a baseball team will go Michael Jordan on him and give him a chance….