Less than 24 hours after logging an assist and a full 90 minutes in the Seattle Sounders’ 2-0 road win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, Clint Dempsey is set to take the field in a completely different professional sport.
Well, OK, maybe Sunday night’s assignment won’t be quite as daunting as Saturday’s.
Dempsey will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Seattle Mariners’ game at Safeco Field, a worthy honor for the Sounders’ star striker in the wake of his team’s impressive win over their Cascadia Cup rivals.
Appropriately enough, Dempsey’s trip to the mound comes with the Boston Red Sox, neighbors of his previous MLS club the New England Revolution, in town. Sunday’s game caps a four-game series between the Mariners and Red Sox, with the home team winning on Friday and Boston taking victories in Thursday and Saturday’s contests.
Longtime MLS fans will remember that Dempsey has had baseball on his mind in the past. In an April 2005 Revs match vs. D.C. United at RFK Stadium – which United were sharing with baseball’s Washington Nationals at the time – the Texan celebrated his game-winning goal for the Revs by racing over to RFK’s home plate area and mimicking a home-run swing.
