


Travis Kelce’s first pitch at the Guardians-Mariners game Friday didn’t travel far before it bounced into the ground, and the Chiefs tight end jokingly blamed all of his touchdown catches.
“Been spiking a football for the past 10 years… can you tell?” he wrote on Twitter, with four laughing emojis.
Kelce’s pitch — after arm flaps, a leg kick, everything — didn’t even make it to the dirt before bouncing to Shane Bieber, the Cleveland pitch tasked with catching the ceremonial throw.
Bieber turned sideways to try and scoop the ball before he realized where it was heading and jumped away.
Then, Kelce sprinted toward the plate and embraced Bieber, as the broadcaster joked that “he better not hit Bieber. He would’ve been in trouble.”
According to Yahoo! Sports, Kelce played varsity baseball in high school, but perhaps the 33-year-old should just keep catching footballs in the NFL.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who at one point played baseball for Texas Tech and was drafted by the Tigers in the 37th round, also joked about Kelce’s pitch on Twitter, before following up later with another tweet that tagged the Royals — where Mahomes has some ownership stake — and asked them to give Kelce another chance.
Kelce, a Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native, threw the first pitch alongside his mother, Donna.
Two months ago, Kelce and his brother, Jason, faced each other in Super Bowl 2023, with Jason, the Eagles’ center, and Donna, their mother, donning merchandise that supported both sons.
Kelce finished his 10th NFL season with 110 catches, 1338 yards and 12 touchdowns while earning his fourth First-Team AP All-Pro selection and eight consecutive Pro Bowl honors.
He has caught 85 touchdown passes throughout his career — combining both regular season and playoffs — and won two Super Bowls, with the second one coming in February when the Chiefs defeated the Eagles, 38-35, and Kelce recorded six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.