HILLSBORO, Ore. - Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe is used to feeling nerves before a big Timbers match, but it's not everyday that he throws out the first pitch at a baseball game.
“I was really nervous actually,” Nagbe said after opening the Hillsboro Hops' Tuesday afternoon game against the Tri-City Dust Devils at Ron Tonkin Field. “More nervous than I get for games or anything else.”
Nagbe admits that he hadn't played baseball before and even had to practice his throw in the batting cages ahead of the game. Nagbe's wife, Felicia, however did play softball competitively at the University of Akron and she offered some advice to the Timbers player before he left for Hillsboro.
“I got some tips from her,” Nagbe said. “But I don't think they worked out.”
Still, for an athlete known primarily for his prowess with his feet, Nagbe threw a solid pitch, even if, as he says, “the catcher made me look good.”
