By Noah Poser, Staff Writer
Is it more stressful to drive a racecar down the famous Michigan Ave. streets in downtown Chicago or throw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game in front of more than 36,000 fans?
If you ask Chase Briscoe, it’s not even close.
“Nothing I do on Sunday will get me on SportsCenter,” Briscoe said ahead of his Wrigley Field debut Thursday night. “I could win the race on Sunday and I still probably wouldn’t make it onto SportsCenter. But if I mess this pitch up, I’ll definitely be on TV tomorrow morning.”
With a singular goal of not joining the likes of 50 Cent and Carly Rae Jepsen in going down in first pitch infamy, it came as no surprise that Briscoe took a very calculated approach for his attempt.
“I’m going to throw it from the actual mound,” Briscoe said. “I have to try from there. I want to get the ball to home plate for starters and I think I should be able to throw a strike. I can throw at least 60 mph if I want to, but definitely not straight.”
Naturally, when the pressure was on, he hit his mark.
He had a nice and smooth approach alone on the mound and executed nearly to perfection. It’s the exact type of performance he’ll need when he takes the green flag Sunday on the Chicago streets if he wants a chance at wining his second race of the season.
He may need to be a little bit faster though.
Briscoe, a fan of the team since he was a kid growing up and watching the likes of Cubs legends Sammy Sosa and Derek Lee, said Thursday was his first time throwing the first pitch at an actual MLB ballpark for a regular season game, although he’s thrown a few first pitches during spring training games.
“If you woulda told me 20-25 years ago when I was having my mom and dad pitch to me so I could copy 15-20 different players’ batting stances that I’d be doing this I wouldn’t believe you,” Briscoe said in a post on X earlier this week. “Played a ton of baseball growing up so this is super cool.”
Even though he hung up the mitt many years ago himself, baseball has remained a major part of Briscoe’s life thanks to friends working in the league for the Cleveland Guardians. Coincidentally enough, the Guardians were the Cubs opponent Thursday and is another team Briscoe follows and roots for.
He’s also good friends with former Cincinnati Reds and Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart, who retired earlier this week. You’d have to think Barnhart would approve of the pitch thrown by Briscoe, a former catcher himself.
Or you could just take Briscoe’s word for it, as he took to social media once more to review his feat of athleticism.
“First pitch at the Cubs game is a success,” Briscoe said. “I will not be on SportsCenter tonight unless they decide to randomly show a NASCAR driver throwing a strike.”
Now, Briscoe will once again trade in his baseball for a steering wheel and it’s on the streets of Chicago that he’ll be hoping his competition are the ones striking out in their attempts to win Sunday, leaving him all alone in victory lane after the checkered flag flies.
And perhaps he’ll even earn an appearance on SportsCenter.