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Jordan Throws First Pitch In Anaheim | 8/18/15

Rowan Kavner

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Baseball runs in the family for DeAndre Jordan, so it was no surprise to see how his first pitch went Tuesday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Jordan, whose brother, Cory, plays baseball professionally, put the first pitch over the plate and directly into the catcher's mitt, earning cheers from the Angels’ fans. 

“It was cool,” Jordan said of the experience. “I was a little nervous, throwing the first pitch I didn’t want to goof it or mess up. But I had confidence going in and I had a lot of fun.”

It wasn’t the first time tossing a first pitch for Jordan, who also successfully did so in his hometown Houston two years ago. He said he knew he wasn’t going to bounce it, but he still had some nerves throwing the pitch in front of thousands of onlookers.

Jordan first went to the Angels’ dugout to get loose, throwing a couple practice tosses to Angels players and chatting with Angels star outfielder Mike Trout before trotting to the mound to throw the first pitch. It was a legitimate first pitch, as well, with Jordan throwing from the actual mound. 

He fought through those nerves and the center, who shoots basketballs with his left hand but threw with his right, proceeded to deliver what would've likely been a strike on the corner and was all smiles afterward.

Jordan said he didn’t want to embarrass his brother with a bad pitch. He said he got some pointers from his brother, and it seemed to pay off given how the throw went. Just like in Houston, Jordan put his old baseball skills to use.

“We all played the same sports when we were coming up, so we all wanted to stay together,” Jordan said. “I played for a couple years. Once I got tall and my strike zone was pretty big, I stopped playing. It wasn’t fun for me anymore.”

But it was still fun Tuesday night to put on a jersey, step up to the mound and throw the first pitch. He said it was also “really awesome” to hear the fans in Anaheim and the Clippers fans at the stadium telling him how glad they were he stayed with the Clippers.

“This was definitely fun,” Jordan said. “I hope to do it again sometime.”

Jordan wasn’t the first Clipper to throw out a first pitch this summer, as Inglewood native Paul Pierce did so earlier this year at a Dodgers game. Jordan found more of the strike zone on his pitch, but he gave Pierce the benefit of the doubt. 

“I think that Paul, he didn’t want to show you guys all what he had,” Jordan joked. “He held back a little bit. I’m glad he did. We need him this season.”