BOSTON — A Mainer tossed out the first pitch at Fenway Park prior Saturday’s Red Sox game — his reward for winning a social media contest launched by the team.
“It was a strike, right down the middle, and it was wonderful,” 28-year-old Seth Poplaski of Greene said of his nervous fastball.
During a phone interview on his way back from Fenway, Poplaski called the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at his favorite team’s ballpark a “once in a lifetime experience.”
Last week, the Red Sox held a social media competition, asking fans to post pictures of their best windups. The person who posted the best image would get to throw out the first pitch during Saturday’s game.
Poplaski leveraged the cuteness factor of his 9-month-old daughter, Evie. After setting Evie up on a blanket wearing a pink Sox sweater and holding a much-too-big-for-her catcher’s mitt, Poplaski stood a few feet away and wound up for a pretend delivery.
The photo included the caption, “A great pitcher is nothing without a great catcher by his side!”
Poplaski shared the submission with the Sox Tuesday morning, and learned Wednesday afternoon he won a trip to the game and the privilege of throwing the first pitch.
As Saturday’s game approached, Poplaski, a credit union employee, started getting a little nervous.
Poplaski said he and his wife, Margaux, got up early Saturday, paced out 60-feet-6-inches, or the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate, and started practicing.
“My worst fear was bouncing it to the plate,” Poplaski said.
The Red Sox got the win Saturday in a 22-10 slugging fest against the Seattle Mariners.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.