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John Daly pulls off another innovative first pitch, proves again he's one of the great athletes of our time

September 08, 2022

From time to time, (stupid) people question if golf is a real sport and whether golfers are real ATHLETES. It's a dumb debate, and one that should be ended pretty quickly by just looking at one man. That one man is John Daly.

Golf fans have seen Daly's freakish length off the tee for more than three decades, but in recent years we've also seen the two-time major champ show off a great shooting touch on the baskeball court and graceful form in the belly-flop. And according to his Wikipedia page, Daly was the kicker/punter for an undefeated high school football team. You get the point. The big dude is a big stud.

But we may have seen his most impressive athletic accomplishment before Wednesday night's St. Louis Cardinals game. Daly threw out a first pitch and did this:

The velocity. The accuracy. The fact that he barely even got set on the mound, almost spinning into his flawless throwing motion. Oh, yeah, and he did it in flip flops. That might be the most impressive first pitch in first pitch history.

And it's not the first time JD has shown off an innovative style with this ceremonial toss. Exactly a year ago to the date, Daly showed off his cannon by firing a baseball high over the backstop:

Power and finesse. Form and artistry. If that's not an athlete, we don't know what is.