Abbosford’s Brendon Kuhn transformed a few clicks on his mouse into standing on the mound at Boston’s iconic Fenway Park.
The 26-year-old earned the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game on May 10 thanks to an incredible day picking his fantasy sports lineup for the DraftKings website.
Kuhn paid $3 to enter a contest on the website that saw the winner get the chance to toss the opening pitch if their team scored the most points over one single day of baseball action. The Toronto Blue Jays fan picked his team perfectly, as he placed first out of over 300 entries to earn the prize. He also entered the exact same team in another contest to earn the chance to throw the first pitch at PNC Park – the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates – today (May 20).
“I had a lineup that night that was stupid good,” he said.
Kuhn monitored his players stats online for most of the day, but found himself in second place near the end of the night. It wasn’t until Philadelphia Phillies infielder Odubel Herrera hit a home run that he could taste the trip.
“He was owned by one per cent of all the other players and ended up having a monster day,” Kuhn said. “He hit a home run in the ninth inning that day, which put me into first in both contests.”
He received a lump sum to be used for travel a few days later, and brought along his dad to experience Fenway.
“He was able to go which was really cool,” he said. “It was surreal walking out there and we got to hang out on the warning track on the field for the pre-game. We got photos of the dugout and getting to play catch with your dad on the warning track of Fenway is something I’ll never forget.”
The actual tossing of the first pitch was something Kuhn might rather forget. Despite playing many years as a kid and even suiting up for the Abbotsford Cardinals, his pitch ended up being a dud.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘do I do the full baseball mechanics and look like a loser who is taking it too seriously or do I just lob it in,” he said. “I found myself in between and ended up throwing it a few feet wide to the left. It wasn’t the best throw in the world. On the video I have of the throw you can hear some light boos.”
Kuhn, who works for Glare LED Lights in Abbotsford, promised to have a better showing in Pittsburgh.
“I have more experience now,” he joked.
He said he will continue to play fantasy sports and thanked DraftKings for the opportunity of a lifetime.
