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Who handled Major League Baseball’s ceremonial first-pitch honors in 2013?

20. Houston Astros

AP/PAT SULLIVAN
Houston Astros Texans football player J.J. Watt waves to the crowd before the opening day baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Houston.

  • By Ross Atkin Staff writer

J.J. Watt, all-pro defensive end of the NFL’s Houston Texans

Word has it that Watt took his first-pitch duties so seriously that he spent a few days practicing for the assignment, even throwing a bullpen session. He warmed up on the field before taking the mound, donning a custom orange Astros jersey, and firing an estimated 75 m.p.h. fastball. Maybe the crowd’s roar that greeted him set the stage for Houston’s 8-2 win over Texas in the Astros’ first game ever as a member of the American League, having made the switch after 50 years in the National League. Watt said there’s a mutually supportive atmosphere among Houston’s sports teams that he enjoys. “Rockets, Astros, Texans, [soccer] Dynamo, whatever it is, we all come together, and that’s what’s so much fun about this city,” he said. By the way, he took some swings in batting practice, and knocked one pitch out of the park.

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Mark Sappenfield
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