Culture

Forget Carly Rae Jepsen's Awful Throw: This Year's First Pitches Are Awesome

She may have thrown a wish in a well, but Carly Rae Jepsen certainly cannot throw a baseball successfully. At a Tampa Bay Rays game on Sunday, the Call Me Maybe singer tossed a ceremonial first pitch off to the side and straight into the dirt. But was it the most memorable opening throw of 2013?

By Eric Levenson
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She may have thrown a wish in a well, but Carly Rae Jepsen certainly cannot throw a baseball successfully. At a Tampa Bay Rays game on Sunday, the Call Me Maybe singer tossed a ceremonial first pitch way to the side and straight into the dirt, missing the plate by, well, a lot.

But let's not all pile on poor Carly Rae. With the All Star game—baseball's effective midway point—set to begin tomorrow night, let's take stock of the first-pitch successes and failures of the year so far. Where does Jepsen's wormburner fit among this year's tosses?

Yeah, not so great. Though the above gif doesn't show it, the ball actually continues on and hits the photographer's black camera lying on the ground. In the reaction shot below, you can even read the shock and embarrassment on her face, followed by a mock celebration. Woohoo!

The singer did have a good sense of humor about it, both immediately after the throw and later on her personal Twitter and Instagram: "A before and after. Me taking the mound. Me knocking the camera out of the photographers hands with the baseball. And me getting a sympathy hug from the catcher. Omg."

A review of this year's first-pitch throws confirms what we suspected; yeah, Jepsen's throw really is the worst of the bunch. But it's probably not the most memorable first pitch of 2013, and there are plenty of challengers.

There's been the heartwarming: a high-tech robot helped a child with a rare blood disease throw a first pitch for the Oakland Athletics from an indoor mini-stadium in his hometown of Kansas City.

There's been the tearjerking: a young girl threw out the first pitch at a Rays game back in May to honor her father stationed in Afghanistan, only for her father, disguised as the catcher, to take off his mask and reveal himself to his daughter. Hugs and tears ensued.

There's been the straight-up awesome: South Korean rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo-Ji's nifty, flexible upper leg sweep—known as an illusion turn—at a game in Seoul was one of the most new and creative moves seen by first-pitch enthusiasts.

And finally, there's been the downright weird: see this throw from Mr. Monopoly to Ronald McDonald on National French Fry Day. I don't even.

But why limit yourself to just this season's foibles? YouTube is here to save the day, bringing us up to speed on the last 30 years of first-pitch failures. Happy All-Star game everyone.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.