Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski threw out the first pitch for the Red Sox on Monday and he did it in the Gronkiest of ways.
Gronk, wearing his NFL number 87 on the back of a custom Red Sox jersey, took a huge, Dennis Eckersley-like wind up before launching the ball straight down into the ground, mimicking his iconic “Gronk Spike” touchdown celebration.
How Gronk throws out the first pitch – so good. pic.twitter.com/xHyEs1mxvE
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 15, 2024
The stadium erupted in delight as the Red Sox mascot, Wally, imitated Gronk’s signature spike behind home plate.
His uniquely-Gronk first pitch made waves, even drawing the eye of his former quarterback Tom Brady, who commented on a social media post of the epic event, writing “Love seeing that Gronk Spike!!!!”
Tom Brady approves of Gronk’s first pitch spike 😂 pic.twitter.com/dTkPsmDnMD
— MLB (@MLB) April 15, 2024
I’m right there with ya, Tom. I miss seeing that spike on Sundays. (RELATED: NFL’s Liberal Media Darling Might Actually Like Trump)
Gronk retired in 2022, and ever since the NFL has been lacking some of its devil-may-care, frat boy energy that Gronkowski brought every Sunday. Do I think Gronk would be the most scintillating conversationalist at a dinner party? Probably not. Do I miss seeing him wild out like an absolute animal every week? I sure do.
He’s arguably the greatest tight end of all time, competing only with Hall of Famers Tony Gonzalez and Shannon Sharpe and future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce for that title. Kelce, Gronk’s heir apparent as the last remaining great tight end from his era, brings a far cooler approach to his on-field persona. I get it, it obviously works for him. But he’s no Gronkowski. Even with his recent homage to the great Gronk, spiking a beer on stage as he accepted his diploma from the University of Cincinnati, he just doesn’t compare to the singular Rob Gronkowski.