by Jillian Mccutcheon

Created on: May 27, 2009

HOW DID GARY DELL'ABATE BLOW THE METS FIRST PITCH

Howard Stern's producer may be funny, he may be able to take a joke, but the secret is out: Gary Dell'Abate can't pitch a baseball. On Saturday the host of Sirius/XM's The Wrap Up show stepped onto the pitcher's mound to throw the first pitch for the New York Mets against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He paraded onto the field holding his hands in the air, encouraging the crowd to cheer him on. Then in one horrible motion Dell'Abate threw his arm forward only to have the ball slip from his hand. (At least one hopes he's telling people it slipped and not that he just really can't throw). The ball went high and right completely missing the batter's box and nearly hitting the cameramen standing a couple of feet up the third base line. The crowd and viewers can't believe what they're watching and Gary turns away bending over in embarrassment. The video can be seen on

youtube in many different views.

The most embarrassing part of this whole fiasco is the fact that this pitch was something Gary had spent weeks preparing himself for. He even went as far as to call in the help of a sports psychiatrist to help him deal with the incredible pressure that goes along with being a celebrity that throws a first pitch. It's possible that Gary got himself a little to worked up over the excitement of throwing the first pitch for his team or maybe Dell'Abate's nickname doomed him from the beginning. He is known as Baba Booey for a slip-up on the Howard Stern show when he mistakenly referred to Quick Draw McGraw's sidekick Baba Looey as Baba Booey. Of course the nickname stuck being that he does work with Howard Stern. Dell'Abate has had a long career of pranks and being made fun of and this is yet one more to add to his portfolio.

Cold feet and nerves have always been a symptom of first time pitchers but few have thrown as bad as Gary Dell'Abate. Sports psychiatry say that the key to doing well is a sound mind and sound body and being able to balance the two. Apparently Gary had more of one and less of the other.

This pitch is one thing that is going to take a while for Dell'Abate to live down. He became one of the most searched videos on You Tube for about a day. It will become one of his most embarrassing moment stories that people can be sure Howard Stern nor any of Gary's fans will soon forget. However Mets fans forgive Gary Dell'Abate. The pitch was for Autism Awareness Day and he still remains a huge Mets fan.

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