Moment an armless man throws first pitch at Rockies game with his FOOT
Inspiring moment an armless man throws first pitch at Colorado Rockies game with his FOOT – completing his dream of doing so at all 30 MLB ballparks
- Tom Willis, who was born without arms, set a goal 15 years ago to throw the first pitch at all 30 ballparks
- He started the journey in 2008 at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., and closed out at Coors Field in Denver, Colo. Thursday night
- After taking off his shoes and gripping the ball with his foot, he threw a perfect strike
- Willis became a motivational speaker in 2002 and, in 2008, he demonstrated how to throw tennis balls and frisbee without hands
- The TV that featured the piece was also the main channel for San Diego Padres and an editor told him he had a good fastball
Strike one . . . or more like strike 30.
In an inspirational final first pitch, an armless man completed his goal to pitch with his foot at all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.
Tom Willis, who was born without arms, set a goal 15 years ago to throw out the first pitch at all 30 ballparks to raise awareness for his platform ‘No Arms, No Hands, No Problems.’
He started the journey in 2008 at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., and closed out at Coors Field in Denver, Colo. Thursday night.
Willis can be seen walking out to the center of the field before he took of his gray slide-on sneakers and gripped the baseball with his toes.
Like a true pitcher, he lifted his free leg across his body before lobbing the ball high into the air and right into the mascot’s mitt.
Tom Willis, who was born without arms, set a goal for himself 15 years ago to throw out the first pitch at all 30 ballparks
After taking off his shoes and gripping the ball with his foot, he threw a perfect strike into the mascot’s mitt
He started the journey in 2008 at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., and closed out at Coors Field in Denver, Colo. Thursday night
Willis became a motivational speaker in 2002 and in 2008, he demonstrated how to throw tennis balls and frisbee without hands on a San Diego TV station, which also happened to be the main channel for the San Diego Padres
He uses his foot to pick up the ball and throw it
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rjAX8Okmb4U%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Willis, who became a motivational speaker in 2002, first demonstrated how to throw tennis balls and frisbee without hands in 2008, when he was featured on a San Diego news station, which also happened to be the main channel San Diego Padres games were aired on.
Willis told them they should let them throw out the first pitch at one of the games and, on May 27, 2008, he did just that.
After receiving a warm welcome from the crowd, Willis, according to Sports Keeda, thought by throwing out the first pitch at every Major League Baseball ballpark was a great way to raise awareness about disabilities.
In 2013, he told the Boston Globe he felt like a ‘rock star without the money.’
Throughout the years, he’s thrown many balls and even signed personalized baseball cards with his Pitch for Awareness National Tour.
‘What I’m trying to do is to understand and believe in the abilities of a person with disabilities,’ he told the Globe.
‘The way our mother raised us was that what we could do, Tom could do too,’ his brother, Michael, said at the time.
Since 2008, Willis has traveled more than 70,000 miles to throw out the first pitches.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=x1UU-OOTIxI%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Since 2008, Willis has traveled more than 70,000 miles to throw out the first pitches
Throughout the years, he’s thrown many balls and even signed personalized baseball cards with his Pitch for Awareness National Tour
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LXSjC-WP3kU%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
‘The way our mother raised us was that what we could do, Tom could do too,’ his brother, Michael, said at the time
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