CHICAGO — A Chicago White Sox employee of the month got to throw out a first pitch. And, to put it mildly, she was just a little bit off target.
The rookie right-hander uncorked one of the most wayward first pitches ever when she plunked a team photographer standing close by, between the mound and first base line before Tuesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.
The ball went right off Darren Georgia’s lens, nowhere near the plate.
The woman covered her face with both hands and raised her arms. White Sox pitcher Evan Marshall, her intended catcher, put his hands over his head and then wrapped his left arm around her.
Georgia told NBC Sports Chicago that he was able to get a photo just before the woman released the pitch.
“I honestly didn’t even see it coming,” George said during NBC Sports’ broadcast of the game. “I took the photo, and it just hit the camera. It didn’t hit my head. The camera’s OK, I’m OK. But just shocked.”
The White Sox didn’t identify the woman pitcher. But no doubt, her toss is certain to be replayed for years, right up there with the wild first pitch by rapper 50 Cent before a Pirates-Mets game at Citi Field — that came five years and one day earlier.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.