The Minnesota Vikings can only hope J.J. McCarthy’s accuracy is better on the gridiron than it is from the pitching mound.
The rookie quarterback threw out the first pitch before the Minnesota Twins’ 7-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, and his toss was well wide of the mark.
Fans promptly had a field day on social media:
Fortunately for McCarthy, he isn’t carrying the hopes and dreams of the Twins on his shoulders.
Granted, accuracy was one of the question marks to the 21-year-old’s game coming out of college at Michigan.
McCarthy completed 72.3 percent of his passes as a junior in 2023, but that’s partially because he excelled at hitting his receivers over the middle on short-to-medium throws. Per Pro Football Focus’ Nick Akridge, he had a 27.1 percent uncatchable rate on passes outside the numbers, which was 48th among eligible FBS quarterbacks.
With that in mind, is it too early to call him a bust because he had an embarrassing throw in an entirely different sport? Who’s to say, really?
The good news for Vikings fans is that McCarthy has looked a lot more natural on a football field to this point in the offseason.