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Quenneville admits first pitch at White Sox game was ‘brutal’

Minnesota Twins v Chicago White Sox

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 23: Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville throws out a ceremonial first pitch before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins on August 23, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

Getty Images

It’s been a solid week-or-so for charmingly guileless displays by hockey figures at Chicago MLB games.

First, there was Don Cherry flubbing (or editorializing, if he was going pro-Blue Jays?) “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at a Chicago Cubs game. Then, on Wednesday, Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville biffed the first pitch at a Chicago White Sox game. To his credit, he handled the poor pitch with good humor, as NBC Chicago reports.

“I’m a little embarassed; I haven’t thrown a baseball in a while,” Quenneville said. “That was brutal, that was awful. You could say that was a bad, bad shot or like a fan on a (hockey) shot.”

Here’s footage of the throw:

Yeah, that’s bad.

Then again, “brutal” might be overstating it, or at least highlighting how jaded bad first pitches and mangled national anthems have become.

Honestly, you can only give Coach Q so much guff when you compare it to Carly Rae Jepsen’s effort:

And, really, any moment of singing at a sports game sounds angelic compared to Carl Lewis’ unforgettable anthem:

(Actually, it seems like Lewis is the Bo Jackson of these things, as his first pitch was Jepsen-esque, and at a White Sox game to boot.)

Anyway, it’s been a tough off-season for the Blackhawks, with Niklas Hjalmarsson now in Arizona and Coach Q assistant Mike Kitchen canned. Quenneville probably prefers the “brutal” of a bad first pitch, all things considered.

And for the rest of us, we’ll all have that wonderful Getty Image of Quenneville’s first pitch. Good stuff.