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POSTED: 3:41 pm CDT April 6, 2007
UPDATED: 4:00 pm CDT April 6, 2007
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ARLINGTON, Texas -- From Chris Rock to Troy Aikman, from his wife to his sons, everyone gave Michael Irvin the same advice about throwing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers home opener Friday.
Don't mess up.
Having seen replays of the nowhere-near-the-plate toss by Cincinnati's mayor, Irvin vowed he would at least come close simply because he's an athlete. That said, he went to the mound as nervous as he's been on a sporting field since his first Super Bowl and hoping the pain relievers he took for a sore shoulder were doing their thing.
The former Dallas Cowboys receiver didn't throw anything near a strike, but his high toss to the first-base side of the plate was close enough for him to smile wide and go into a victory pose: Arms thrown up, head tilted back. He clapped his hands, then gladly accepted the ball from his catcher, Rangers star Michael Young.
"I'm always comfortable when I'm in my element -- and my element is the football field," Irvin said. "So coming outside my element, it brings about a few jitters."
This was Irvin's most prominent local appearance since being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He received a standing ovation from about 40,000 baseball fans on his way from the dugout to the mound -- wearing a white jersey with Texas on the front and his familiar No. 88 on the back.
In his football heyday, Irvin helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls alongside Aikman and Emmitt Smith. They were known as "The Triplets," and Irvin is the third to make the Hall of Fame and then to make the trip to the mound in Arlington.
"It's another thing we can add to the long list of great things that we'll be fortunate enough to talk about when we're old, out there rocking on the porch," Irvin said.
The pep talks from his buddies differed.
Smith told Irvin, "You'll be fine, you'll be fine." Aikman told him: "Don't embarrass yourself out there."
Rock, who worked with Irvin in the remake of "The Longest Yard," also called with this bit of encouragement, "It's not as easy as you think it is."
Did he consider asking to catch it instead?
"I would be even more nervous because you expect me to catch everything. And if I drop that one ... " he said, laughing. "So I'd rather throw it and stick with the great tradition."
Once the pitch was thrown and he let out his sigh of relief, Irvin posed for pictures with the team's horse-head mascot character, then went to the owner's box to greet Rangers owner Tom Hicks and his guest: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Irvin has selected Jones as his presenter at the Hall of Fame ceremony this summer, but Jones was more likely at this game getting used to his new neighborhood. Jones' $1 billion new stadium can be seen going up a short distance from the Rangers' ballpark.
LINK
UPDATED: 4:00 pm CDT April 6, 2007
Email This Story | Print This Story
ARLINGTON, Texas -- From Chris Rock to Troy Aikman, from his wife to his sons, everyone gave Michael Irvin the same advice about throwing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers home opener Friday.
Don't mess up.
Having seen replays of the nowhere-near-the-plate toss by Cincinnati's mayor, Irvin vowed he would at least come close simply because he's an athlete. That said, he went to the mound as nervous as he's been on a sporting field since his first Super Bowl and hoping the pain relievers he took for a sore shoulder were doing their thing.
The former Dallas Cowboys receiver didn't throw anything near a strike, but his high toss to the first-base side of the plate was close enough for him to smile wide and go into a victory pose: Arms thrown up, head tilted back. He clapped his hands, then gladly accepted the ball from his catcher, Rangers star Michael Young.
"I'm always comfortable when I'm in my element -- and my element is the football field," Irvin said. "So coming outside my element, it brings about a few jitters."
This was Irvin's most prominent local appearance since being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He received a standing ovation from about 40,000 baseball fans on his way from the dugout to the mound -- wearing a white jersey with Texas on the front and his familiar No. 88 on the back.
In his football heyday, Irvin helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls alongside Aikman and Emmitt Smith. They were known as "The Triplets," and Irvin is the third to make the Hall of Fame and then to make the trip to the mound in Arlington.
"It's another thing we can add to the long list of great things that we'll be fortunate enough to talk about when we're old, out there rocking on the porch," Irvin said.
The pep talks from his buddies differed.
Smith told Irvin, "You'll be fine, you'll be fine." Aikman told him: "Don't embarrass yourself out there."
Rock, who worked with Irvin in the remake of "The Longest Yard," also called with this bit of encouragement, "It's not as easy as you think it is."
Did he consider asking to catch it instead?
"I would be even more nervous because you expect me to catch everything. And if I drop that one ... " he said, laughing. "So I'd rather throw it and stick with the great tradition."
Once the pitch was thrown and he let out his sigh of relief, Irvin posed for pictures with the team's horse-head mascot character, then went to the owner's box to greet Rangers owner Tom Hicks and his guest: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Irvin has selected Jones as his presenter at the Hall of Fame ceremony this summer, but Jones was more likely at this game getting used to his new neighborhood. Jones' $1 billion new stadium can be seen going up a short distance from the Rangers' ballpark.
LINK
