Snoop Dogg delivers memorable first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field

·Yahoo Sports Contributor

May 25, 2012 at 3:14 a.m.

On Wednesday night, it was a traditional Dog Day at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.

On Thursday night, it was D-O-Double-Gizzle Day, as in the world famous rapper and entertainer Snoop Dogg, who stopped by to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before heading off to his scheduled performance at the Horseshoe Casino in nearby Hammond, Ind.

And I must say, I came away impressed with Snoop's dedication to his craft, and the results it garnered. Especially compared to the majority of celebrity first pitches we've seen lately. Not naming names, Gary Sinise.

Not only did Snoop successfully get the ball over the plate and on the fly, he did so while displaying good balance, sound mechanics, a very deceptive delivery. And of course he gets an A+ for showmanship, concluding the performance with an homage to Usain Bolt and Tim Tebow.

But I really want to know: Was that Snoop's best fastball, or did he dig deep into his bag of tricks?

"Oh man, that was special," Snoop Dogg said. "It was a strike. It was a changeup, screwball. It was one of my pitches that I normally don't really go into, but we are in the Windy City so I had to make sure it got over the plate the right way."

The winds were whipping at The Cell on Thursday night, reaching gusts of 25 mph, so he was wise to pitch to the conditions. But I don't think I'd go as far to call the pitch a strike. It was a very respectable effort to be sure, but he needs to bring that down to get a strike call.

But, then again, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised that Snoop Dogg would be in favor of a high strike zone.

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