Minnesota Vikings fans may have been concerned when a video of J.J. McCarthy’s first pitch at a Minnesota Twins game went viral on Tuesday. But former NFL player Pat McAfee believes it was a good sign for the quarterback’s future.
During Wednesday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show", McAfee theorized that McCarthy missed his pitch on purpose after his teammate, Dallas Turner, was just a bit outside on his first pitch.
While McCarthy could have eased the minds of Vikings fans by throwing a strike down the middle, McAfee shared why believes that he missed the pitch to be a good teammate to Turner.
“I think he did that on purpose. Some people realize it’s not easy to throw that opening pitch. Maybe the ball was a little greasy, a little bit slippery, and I think you’re trying to make Dallas look better than how he looks for his opening pitch.”
Did Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy intentionally miss his first pitch before Tuesday's Minnesota Twins game?
McAfee traced his theory back to a video produced by the Vikings’ social media account of McCarthy speaking with Turner in a hallway before the pitch. After discussing who would go first, McCarthy told Turner to “get it to the glove” before his pitch went high and to the left. When McCarthy took his turn, his pitch went low and right to allegedly make up for his teammate's pitch.
An alternate version of McCarthy's first pitch by SKOR North’s Declan Goff also showed the quarterback's misfire from the press box but McAfee believes that most of the heat has come from not seeing what happened before the pitch.
“Obviously, everybody’s mocking J.J. because they didn’t see what happened with Dallas. They just see his pitch and go, 'Eh, guy gets under the bright lights at the Minnesota Twins game in front of 55 people, and maybe he gets a little too tight.’ Instead, what they didn’t see because the video was edited. It was like, he was looking out for his teammate.
You want to yam on your team? No way. Not a chance. These guys gonna be teammates in Minnesota for the next 10 years. Obviously, they’re gonna be best friends. We don’t need to start this thing in the middle of the summer, hot as hell, with me embarrassing the shit out of a guy that’s not supposed to throw a baseball.”
McCarthy’s arm strength has been a discussion throughout offseason team activities but his accuracy has come into question. While the pitch will not hide the fact that McCarthy has work to do, it’s also the same sport that made Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams look silly while hitting off a tee during a Chicago Cubs game last month.
If McCarthy were a top prospect for the Twins, maybe there would be some concern. But if McCarthy can throw a football – something he did for a 72.3 percent completion rate during his final year at Michigan – Tuesday’s misfire could be nothing but a good laugh in the locker room.