Stephen A. Smith’s first pitch needs a second take

Stephen A. Smith, the ESPN analyst and personality, was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch at Thursday night’s New York Yankees game.

It did not go well.

Before the Yankees took on the Toronto Blue Jays, Smith marched to the pitcher’s mound wearing a Derek Jeter No. 2 jersey to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

And promptly fired a 56-foot fastball that bounced well short of home plate:

Now to be fair, Smith’s effort is not the worst ceremonial first pitch we have seen in recent memory. 50 Cent had a first pitch ahead of a New York Mets game that was wildly off the mark, and this effort from Conor McGregor before a Chicago Cubs game almost reached the front row:

And then this first pitch ahead of a Boston Red Sox game that, well, must have left a mark:

To his credit, Smith joined the booth later in the night and broke down his performance:

Absolutely tremendous content.