James Franklin is slated to throw out the first pitch Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium and his goals are very simple.
Don’t look like 50 Cent.
“To be honest with you, my baseline is to just not be 50 Cent,” Franklin said Tuesday morning during an interview with Comcast SportsNet. “I’m expecting to be anywhere between 87 and 97 miles per hour and touch the edges of the plate,” he added.
Not replicating the poor first pitch performance by the producer and rapper shouldn’t be too difficult. All Franklin will have to do is get the ball over the plate. While perhaps that’s easier said than done, a few warmup pitches prior to going out to the mound should help his accuracy.
A successful pitch would give Franklin his second victory in a few short months at Yankee Stadium following a 31-30 victory over Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. More importantly, it would avoid cementing Franklin among those plagued with poor first pitches that are so often remembered far more than the successful ones.
Franklin isn’t the only Big Ten coach making an appearance at one of the world’s most famous ballparks. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is also scheduled to toss out an opening pitch in early May.
Knowing the competitive nature of both head coaches, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear both watched from afar, silently hoping their conference colleague found a home in the history books with a wild pitch.
Franklin might have the leg up on this one though. The former college quarterback shouldn’t have to much trouble finding the catchers mit.
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