State Sen. Robert A. “Bobby” Zirkin (D-11th) was part of a special group of notables that threw out ceremonial first pitches at the Orioles’ Opening Day ceremonies on Monday.
Zirkin enjoyed the same honor last year, but admitted that having done so before did precious little to settle his nerves. After all, he said, standing out on the field in front of 45,667 fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards proved a bit daunting.
“It was petrifying,” Zirkin said with a laugh. “One of the scariest things I’ve ever done. By any definition of the word, [my pitch] was not a strike. But it was pretty cool.”
Zirkin paired up with longtime team announcer Fred Manfra and Mayor Catherine E. Pugh in the first-pitch ceremony before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Each threw from in front of the pitcher’s mound to an Oriole near home plate.
Zirkin, who turns 46 later this month, threw a fairly good pitch to O’s hurler Oliver Drake while wearing jersey number 20. The senator worked on his pitch in a Camden Yards hallway in the minutes prior to coming onto the field.
While warming up with a friend, Zirkin said he saw Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., who gently critiqued the senator’s pitching techniques. “He said I was throwing it pretty good,” Zirkin said, chuckling.
Zirkin worked a bit harder at throwing since baseball wasn’t exactly his sport during his high school and college years. He played varsity basketball at Pikesville High School in the late 1980s, and while at Johns Hopkins University and later at the London School of Economics.
Zirkin earned his first-pitch honors thanks to becoming friendly in recent years with Orioles team owner Peter Angelos and his family. They asked Zirkin last year if he’d be interested in throwing out the first pitch on Opening Day, and the Orioles gave him another invite this year.
Zirkin said he thoroughly enjoyed having his wife, Tina, and their two daughters, Sophie and Emma, at the ballpark to watch him take part in the ceremony once more.
“I’d like to think that [since] the Orioles had such a good year last year, that maybe if they win the World Series this year, that I could do it again,” Zirkin said of the first-pitch honor. “It was an incredible experience.”
Jeff Seidel is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.
Photo of Sen. Bobby Zirkin (left) provided by Baltimore Orioles
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