Logan Thompson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Wednesday night’s Washington Nationals game. Not only was it the first time Logan’s been given first pitch honors, but it was also the first time Logan’s ever thrown a ball before.
The Capitals revealed Thompson’s strange feat as the fourth-in-Vezina-Trophy-voting goaltender got a pep talk from Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin before he took the mound pregame.
The conversation between the two athletes went like this, according to a Capitals’ social media video.
Logan Thompson: How’s it going?
Jake Irvin: What’s up brother?
Logan Thompson: Logan. Nice to meet you.
Jake Irvin: Nice to meet you, man.
Logan Thompson: Same to you.
Jake Irvin: It was fun to watch you this year, brother.
Logan Thompson: Oh, thanks! Appreciate that. Thank you. I’ve never thrown a ball before, so I’m going to be pretty…
Jake Irvin: Are you serious?
Logan Thompson: Yeah.
Jake Irvin: [laughing in disbelief] All right. Ummmmm??
Logan Thompson: [laughs nervously]
Jake Irvin: Throw it hard, man!
Logan Thompson: I’m going to try and just —
Jake Irvin: Throw it farther than you think.
Logan Thompson: I’m trying to… is it farther than you think???
Jake Irvin: [smiles sheepishly] Yep.
Logan Thompson: All right. I’m going going to just try and get it to you.
Jake Irvin: That’s the right move. I’ll make sure to make you look good.
Logan Thompson: All right, yeah!
Despite Logan’s lack of experience, the 28-year-old hockey player seemed like a natural at the mound, heaving the ball to Irvin over the plate. The pitch was a tad high, but in our books, especially considering his inexperience, you can’t call this anything but a wild success as he avoided a potentially embarrassing viral moment.
Not only was Logan’s first pitch superb, but so was the Nationals’ performance in the game as they defeated their rivals, the New York Mets, 5-4. With the victory, the Nationals improved their record to 51-75 on the year.
