(670 The Score) A White Sox employee who threw one of the most wayward ceremonial first pitches of all time Tuesday evening described her mishap of hitting a working photographer's camera and the ensuing attention "surreal."
Ahead of the White Sox-Royals game at Guaranteed Rate Field, Mary Ruich took the mound confidently and wound up but released her pitch far too late. It plunked Darren Georgia's camera as he was snapping photos to her left, 15 or so feet away.
"I thought I was right over that home plate," Ruich said Wednesday after the team organized a media availability for her. "I thought I was good. It felt good. I felt great. I don't know what happened, but something went wrong."
When did she know the pitch was awry?
"When he started stumbling," Ruich said. "When I saw the camera get bobbled, I was like, 'Oh my God, maybe nobody saw that. I'll just run away.'
"It (the ball) almost like stuck in my hand. It wouldn't come out of my hand."
"Now, the key to this game is keeping your eye on the ball." pic.twitter.com/qZKAt6GSKk
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 29, 2019Ruich called the feedback she received "great" and in good nature. She was just happy Georgia wasn't hurt.
"I lost a lot of sleep," said Ruich, who has been a server in the stadium club bar since 2001. "I was very, very nervous. I was dying to meet him, because I wanted to make sure he was really, really was OK. So that's most important."
Georgia assured everyone that he was unharmed.
"It's been a whirlwind of 12, 24 hours," Georgia said.
"I've enjoyed the whole thing. I have no hard feelings toward Mary at all. The whole thing was hilarious."
Ruich had earned the honor of throwing out the first pitch after being named the team's employee of the month. As part of that procedure, the White Sox surprise their employee with the announcement, Georgia said, then let them throw out the first pitch. In other words, there's really no time to prepare.
"It hasn't really hit me yet -- get it?" Ruich joked of the situation.
