Stephen A. Smith be BOOED by Yankees fans after throwing first pitch before Blue Jays

Stephen A. Smith left the mound to boos on Thursday night after throwing the first pitch at Yankee Stadium – and bouncing it into the catcher’s glove.

The host of ESPN’s ‘First Take’ was seen dancing before heading out to throw the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the game between the Yankees and the Blue Jays.

But Smith’s effort landed well short of the plate and the broadcaster bowed his head in disappointment while the crowd made their feelings known.

‘I was disgusted with myself, man’ said Stephen A. on YES Network’s coverage from the Bronx after one of the channel’s play-by-play announcers asked him if he was ‘ticked off’ by the way he pitched.

‘Let me tell you something…I was warming up…I was throwing strikes from 60 feet away and I got on that mound and it looked like it was a mile away…I said ”what the hell am I doing here?” 

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith threw the first pitch at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night

Smith left the mound to boos after his effort landed short before Yankees vs. Blue Jays 

‘I said ”what the hell am I doing here” and then you know, it just…I mean there’s no excuse. It was a choke job. I can do better than that. It was a choke job and Stephen A. choked a little bit.. and I just did…

‘It was straight but damn it!’

Ahead of his pitch, Stephen A. shared a clip of himself next to the Yankees’ dugout, warming up as he was getting ready for his big moment of the night. 

‘How are you feeling,’ asked the cameraman. ‘A little nervous,’ said Stephen A.

‘I mean I’m warming up and I got it! I got a few pitches, but all it takes is one mistake!’

‘One mistake! And I can mess up everything,’ he added before mentioning a piece of advice given to him by one of baseball’s greatest and New York’s favorites, the great Derek Jeter. 

‘He told me: ”don’t f*** this up,”’ revealed Stephen A. ‘Don’t f*** this up and he wanna see the video as soon as I’m finished…Ok…grateful…’

A day earlier, on Wednesday, Stephen A. showed his excitement at being invited to throw out the first pitch on his eponymous podcast, sharing to his fans that he’s still got the skills to pay the bills. 

‘I mentioned on ‘First Take’ this morning about what I’m doing this Thursday. That would be tomorrow night,’ Stephen A. said, before shouting: ‘Your boy is throwing out the first pitch at Yankees Stadium! Yeah, that’s me, that’s me!

‘Now, I wanna say that my shoulder’s been hurting a little bit,’ quipped the sports analyst. ‘I got an MRI and they say there’s nothing there so I’m going to be alright. I ain’t got that excuse but I’ve got to work on it, I’ve got to work on it, alright? I just wanted to let y’all know that.’ 

It’s fair to say that Stephen A. left fans unimpressed on social media following his wimpy pitch

It’s fair to say that Stephen A., who claims to be a ‘diehard Yankee fan’ since a young age, left fans unimpressed on social media after putting his wimpy pitch on display.

‘Man roasts athletes daily and does this,’ said a user on X, formerly known as Twitter, while sharing a loudly crying face emoji. 

‘If ”if you didn’t play why should people listen to you” was a video,’ wrote another. 

‘HE NEEDS TO RETIRE AFTER THIS,’ a fan joked. 

‘Don’t stress it, your takes on baseball are even worse, surprisingly @stephenasmith,’ said a user.

‘I’ve seen a dog throw better than that,’ tweeted another with rolling on the floor laughing emojis.