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Al's Pitching Debut

Last night, before Game 3 of the American League Championship Series game in Cleveland between the Red Sox and Indians, our own Al Roker had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.I spoke to him this morning about the experience:Q: How did you find yourself on the mound at Jacobs Field to throw out the first pitch?Al Roker: Desperation on the Indians' part!Q: I mean, that's a pretty

Last night, before Game 3 of the American League Championship Series game in Cleveland between the Red Sox and Indians, our own Al Roker had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

I spoke to him this morning about the experience:

Q: How did you find yourself on the mound at Jacobs Field to throw out the first pitch?

Al Roker: Desperation on the Indians' part!

Q: I mean, that's a pretty big deal to be asked for a playoff game...

Al: I worked in Cleveland for five years at WKYC Channel 3, and I had a great time there. A lot of people think I'm from Cleveland, I talk about Cleveland so much. I love it.

Anyway, I got a call, asking, "Do you want to throw out the first pitch?" My sister lives in Cleveland with her husband and three kids, and I thought, if nothing else, it's a way for them to get free tickets to the game. I thought about it and thought, "Wow, this is great!"

So I said yes, without really thinking. And not being the world's greatest baseball player, it wasn't until about a day later that I realized, "Oh my God, I'm going to have to throw a baseball"...

Q: In front of 45,000 people...

Al: In front of 45,000 people...at The Jake. I just was so thrilled that I was able to get it over the plate without bouncing it. It was a little high, but I got it out.

Q: Did you do any physical preparation beforehand?

Al: I ate three hot dogs... no, I didn't.

Q: The Babe Ruth diet...

Al: Yes, I did the Babe Ruth diet. I did actually have a hot dog with Bertman's mustard. The key to the hot dog at The Jake is Bertman's mustard.

I did three or four pitches before, by the dugout, but it was okay.

Q: Anyone that you met, or any funny anecdotes from being there that you'd like to share?

Al: They have a mascot there called Slider. It's one of those amorphous, weird-looking things. And I was strangely attracted to it. Other than that...there was a great kid there named Brian. He was a brain cancer survivor, and he walked out with me and gave me the ball. So that was very sweet.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Al makes a new friend: Slider, the Cleveland Indians' mascot. Al's inexplicable

attraction to Slider is just that -- inexplicable.

Other than that, you realize why these ballplayers have such incredible egos -- and rightly so. There are hundreds of thousands of people who play baseball and hope to make it to the big leagues. And you're standing out on that field, and all you can see are all these people. In fact, you don't even see the people, you just sense movement and hear this incredible roar. It is one of the headiest feelings you can ever get. It's unbelievable.

If you're a ballplayer, you do this, maybe after a while you get jaded. But for someone who had never been on the field before, it was pretty amazing.

Q: Did it kind of freak you out? How were you feeling when you were standing on the mound?

Al: No, look. I've walked into Meredith's dressing room by accident a couple times. If I can do that and survive, throwing a pitch in front of 45,000 screaming fans is nothing.

Q: Did it feel good to have a better performance than Tim Russert when he bounced his pitch at a game a few years ago?

Al: There was no doubt that was going to happen. That whole "I was trying to throw a slider" thing was so unbelievably lame. If he had been a guest on "Meet the Press" and had tried to get that line across, he would have been eviscerated.

Tim is used to Washington, where hot air tends to rise. So I guess he was expecting the ball to rise. I'm from New York, this is the way we roll.

Q: Would you do it again if you were asked back by Cleveland or if another team asked you to do it?

Al: Yes, absolutely. It's a great honor. I'm hoping to get the opportunity for the Indians to ask me to throw before a World Series game.