Gerald Wallace Shines At Bobcats Night

 

FORT MILL, S.C.  -  Gerald Wallace stepped into the on-deck circle awaiting his chance to bat at Knights Stadium.  Pitcher Richard Dotson was doing his usual warm up pitches before the inning started. Suddenly a wild throw sails above the batters box and several feet above the already towering Gerald Wallace.  Was Richard 'Dot' Dotson being shaken by the impending presence of the 6'8" Gerald 'Crash' Wallace?  Maybe Dot was sending a message to Wallace?  Or maybe Dot hadn't thrown in several days and was stretching out his arm so he could throw his best pitches to Wallace...

Gerald stepped to the plate as fans flocked closer to the field to witness his plate appearance.  The letters spelling out W-A-L-L-A-C-E can be clearly seen across the back of the custom Charlotte Knights jersey stretched across Wallace's 7+ foot wingspan.  With the shutters of media frenzied cameras clicking all about, Wallace prepares for the first pitch from Dotson.  The bat leaves his shoulder toward the plate...

*Crack*

The ball travels mercilessly into the sky.  Several seconds later it lands in shallow center field.  OK, the next one feels like it will leave the park.  Everyone waits for the pitch...

*Crack*

Several people duck as the foul ball ricochets back behind the batters box. "I wasn't ready for that one".

Dramatic writing aside - the Charlotte Bobcats Gerald Wallace looked great in the batters box while he took batting practice with the Knights on Bobcats Night here at Knights Stadium on August 27th.  In fact, he looked like a baseball veteran standing in the cage making contact with each pitch thrown.  Early into the batting practice, Knights manager Chris Chambliss joined the crowd surrounding Wallace and watched the NBA All-Star.  After several swings Chambliss commented that Gerald displayed good upper body strength and showed some nice raw power.

By the end of the batting practice, Wallace had hit 2 home runs and drawn some praise from several of the Knights players and coaches.  He was also quick to admit that taking batting practice was a harder workout than he expected.

Once the game started, Wallace took the field once again to throw out an honorary first pitch.  Joining Gerald Wallace at the game were fellow Bobcat Rufus and the beautiful Lady Cats.

Here are some photos from the event: