There are certainly perks to saving a someone’s life. But some of them take practice.
Intern Daniel Hernandez learned that this week. He’s the one credited with saving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., during the January shooting rampage in Tuscon. Hernandez was asked by Team DC, an LGBT group, to throw out the first pitch Tuesday at a Washington Nationals Game.
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“[I was] absolutely mortified,” he told Yeas & Nays. “I hadn’t picked up a baseball in over a decade and had to have lessons from one of Congresswoman Giffords’ staffers.”
They practiced in a parking lot and apparently, it paid off. Hernandez’s pitch zipped right to the mitt of the catcher. “My only goal going into it was not to bounce and make it over home plate,” he said.
Hernandez was tapped to represent the gay community at Tuesday’s Night OUT at the Nationals and found himself cheering for the D.C. team. “It’s hard not to be a Nats fan after that fantastic game change,” he said. “I’m always one that loves to be on the underdog’s side, so to have the game be 5-1 for most of it and then miraculously turning it into a 6-5 win was enough to make anyone a Nats fan.” The Nationals beat the Seattle Mariners with a walk-off homerun.
