We know San Francisco 49ers’ young star quarterback Colin Kaepernick has an arm. He proved that in the 49ers run to the 2013 Super Bowl. So, everyone was curious when he took the mound Friday night for the ceremonial first pitch before the San Francisco Giants played the Miami Marlins.
"Picking up a baseball for the first time in 7 yrs tomorrow to throw out the first pitch for the @sfgiants ....... Lets see if there is anything left in the tank!" he said in a pre-game tweet.
He toed the rubber, went into his wind up and hurled a fastball. It was clocked at 87 mph, according to the 49ers Twitter account.
The QB tweeted about the experience afterward:
"87 on the first pitch.... Not too bad next year I'm goin to spring training to get ready! #sfgiants”
Kaepernick is no stranger to the baseball diamond. In 2009 he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 43rd round before he decided to go after a career in football, according to ESPN.com. When he played in high school, Kaepernick’s fastball was clocked in the 90s.
However, his choice to become a football player seems to have worked out.
Kaepernick became the 49ers starting quarterback in the 2012-2013 season after former starter Alex Smith went down with an injury. When Smith returned he found his starting job was no longer available since head coach Jim Harbaugh had chosen to go ride his promising young QB. (Which proved to be a good move since the 49ers went on to be NFC champs.)
Kaepernick finished the 2012 regular season with a 98.3 passer rating, 1,814 passing yards, and 15 total touchdowns (10 passing and five rushing), according to ESPN.com. He finished the postseason with a 100.9 passer rating, 798 passing yards, and seven total touchdowns (four passing and three rushing).
