Travis Kelce finally throws successful first pitch at Kansas City Royals game

Travis Kelce couldn’t screw up this pitch. He needed to throw a strike to open the Royals game Monday night. Or else the baseball ridicule would continue into training camp and beyond.

After all, if you’re Kelce, you can’t muck up the ceremonial as the Royals honored the defending Super Bowl champions with Chiefs night at Kauffman Stadium. His teammates formed a line behind the mound. For goodness sakes, Patrick Mahomes brought the Lombardi Trophy. You can’t embarrass the hardware.

And there was that whole nagging image of Kelce flopping on Opening Day. The Cleveland Guardians asked Kelce, who grew up nearby, to throw out the honorary first pitch of the season. Kelce, whether it was nerves or too much adrenaline, bounced the ball towards pitching ace Shane Bieber, who needed to get out of the way. The errant ball even chased away Slider, the mascot.

But on Monday night, Travis Kelce’s pitch probably made his teammates proud. At a minimum, it will keep them quiet. He threw it straight and easy to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr, who pointed to the sky. As Kelce and Witt embraced, Kelce’s teammates cheered wildly. Take a look at the clip.

STRIKE!!! Travis Kelce with a wonderful first pitch to Bobby Witt Jr. #ChiefsKingdom #Royals pic.twitter.com/3EHhOwfrqa

— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) June 13, 2023

Travis Kelce planned to throw a two-seamer fastball

Mitch Holthus, who is the Chiefs radio announcer, said on the Royals broadcast Monday night that Travis Kelce was determined to get it right.

“I saw him over at the practice facility, and I’m going, ‘Are you going cutter or slider tonight?’ Holthus recalled. “He goes, ‘I’m going two-seamer!'”

Royals pitcher Brad Keller told reporters that he’d given Travis Kelce some tips.

“I feel like the one (bit of) advice everyone gives is just don’t bounce it,” Keller said. “So, lob it, do something, just don’t bounce it, because it is intimidating and all eyes are on you. And I think from people that don’t do it very often and go out there at 60 feet, it kind of seems a lot further than they expected. So yeah, lob it, somehow just don’t bounce it.”

Here’s how the Royals welcomed the Chiefs. Read on to see whether the Super Bowl champs brought the Royals any luck.

The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are in the house! It's Chiefs night at Kauffman Stadium. #ChiefsKingdom #Royals pic.twitter.com/QkWz6iFESD

— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) June 12, 2023

Alas, Kelce’s Ohio roots came back to bite the baseball team. The Cincinnati Reds beat the Royals, 5-4, in extra innings.

And after that long night at Kauffman Stadium, the Chiefs reported to their headquarters for the start of mini camp. Baseball was brief.