Denzel Valentine is living some of the best days of his life right now. Valentine nearly won college basketball’s Naismith Player of the Year last season at Michigan State, and was just drafted by the Chicago Bulls last week.
The Chicago White Sox had him throw out the first pitch before their game against the Minnesota Twins, and Valentine put a little spice on his pitch by going between his legs, after going behind his back a couple of times to warm up.
The pitch was a little high, but it’s certainly better than putting it in the dirt or throwing it into the next zip code like 50 Cent did for the New York Mets.
Valentine wore a 45 jersey while throwing out the pitch, which is the number he will rock on the basketball court. That’s raised eyebrows in Chicago, as it was the number that Michael Jordan wore when he initially came back to the NBA in 1995, and as a minor leaguer with the White Sox.
But if he performs well for the Bulls, all will be forgotten. Nobody expects him to be Jordan, but that numbers bears a big burden, even if MJ didn’t wear it for a long period of time.
