Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Pat Connaughton was a multi-sport athlete for Notre Dame. In addition to impressing enough scouts to be picked in the second round of the 2015 draft, the Massachusetts native was good enough at pitching for the Baltimore Orioles to give him a shot in their Single-A affiliate. Obviously, Connaughton decided to choose to make basketball his profession. Judging from the video below, it seems like he made the right choice:
Bucks guard Pat Connaughton was a former MLB draft pick, but it's kind of hard to tell from this pitch 😅 (via @fswisconsin) pic.twitter.com/q0RPICDh7v
— ESPN (@espn) May 2, 2019
Everyone in the stadium who is aware of Connaughton's background was probably a little surprised at where this pitch ended up. Watching the first pitch brought back memories of another NBA star, John Wall, attempt to throw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game. Fortunately, Connaughton took the error in stride, and even joked about it after in an interview:
The @Bucks' @pconnaughton on that first pitch: "I would have brushed back a few right-handed batters." 😬 pic.twitter.com/8SuGJVvzID
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) May 2, 2019
Even though his baseball skills might not be up to par anymore, Pat Connaughton has been playing well for the Bucks as they attempt to make a deep playoff run. He has averaged 7.7 points per game in 27.5 minutes during the six playoff games the Bucks have played so far.
The Bucks have been forced to lean harder on the four-year guard then they had previously envisioned due to the injury of starting two guard Malcolm Brogdon. Without Brogdon, Connaughton has nearly doubled his average playoff minutes from last years run.
Hopefully, Pat Connaughton has a long and successful enough career so that he never will have to set foot on the baseball mound again. If he does, those right-handed batters might be in trouble.
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