When Colin Kaepernick took the mound at AT&T Park on Friday, he brought the heat with him.
Kap, a graduate of Pitman High School and the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, clocked 87 miles-per-hour on the radar gun as he threw out the first pitch of the San Francisco Giants' game against the Miami Marlins.
“87 on the first pitch…” Kaepernick tweeted. “Not too bad next year I'm going to spring training to get ready!”
The pitch was caught by Giants closer Sergio Romo, who asked Kap to sign the ball for him as a souvenier. The two posed for pictures, as well.
Kap didn't quite reach the pace of his fastball in high school, where he was a two-time all-state pitcher for the Pitman Pride. But, to his credit, Kaepernick took only one warm-up toss.
“I was trying to hit 90 but I almost ripped my pants with that leg kick lol,” he tweeted.
Kaepernick's fastball regularly surpassed 90 miles-per-hour in high school, and hit 93 at times. He pitched two no-hitters for the Pride, tallied a 1.265 ERA in his senior year, and was offered many scholarships to play college baseball.
Kaepernick left the sport to play college football instead, taking a scholarship at the University of Nevada, Reno.
But professional teams didn't forget about Kap during his tenure at Nevada. Two years after he last played baseball, Kap was drafted in the 43rd round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago Cubs. He decided not to sign, opting to continue with a record-breaking college football career that eventually lead to his role helming the San Francisco 49ers.
To see Kaepernick's warm-up toss, visit http://sfgiants.tumblr.com/post/53561271763/kaepernick-warms-up-one-throw-hes-good-to-go.
To see Kaepernick's first pitch, visit http://instagram.com/p/a2A1y2Ceul/.
