Rapper Snoop Dogg defends lousy first pitch at Padres game

Calls it, “Pitching my pitching to the playa’s playing."

Author

By Walter Mencken

Publish Date

June 16, 2016

We should have seen it coming: “It’s not like y’all didn’t have fair warning,” says Mr. Dogg. “I called it way outside before I even got to the mound, pointed just like the Babe.” [The reference is to the third game of the 1932 World Series between the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs, in which famed slugger Babe Ruth is supposed to have pointed center field just before hitting a homerun some 440 feet over the center field wall at Wrigley Field.] It’s like I told that reporter before the game in Chi-town: 'It’s all about the follow-through, making sure you’re looking at where your target is at. I did it before…my right hand is good.’”

Rap legend Snoop Dogg threw out the first pitch for the Padres June 8 home game against the Atlanta Braves, though calling it a “pitch” might be a bit generous: the ball sailed so far to the right that it eluded the catcher and nearly hit a cameraman. Some observers expressed surprise at the errant toss, given Dogg’s considerable experience on the mound, but the musician was quick to reassure. “The Padres are what, 26-40? You can’t expect me to go out there and groove in a sweet Snoop sinker when you’re 14 games out of first place; that would make for some wack proportionality. I’m a performer, and I performed in precisely the manner that the moment required. Everybody laughed, which is the appropriate response when your team is a joke.”

Snoop’s first pitches, a visual hizzistory