When Simone Biles threw the ceremonial opening pitch at last night’s World Series game in Houston, she pulled a Missy Elliot and literally flipped it and reversed it.
The 22-year-old Olympic gold medalist hit the pitcher’s mound at Minute Maid Park with her A-game and pulled a full-on twisting backflip before tossing Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick the ball. You truly have to see it to believe it.
We’d be remiss not to mention that Biles (aka the most decorated gymnast of all time) did this complex move in jeans, no less. Let’s hope they had some stretch to them.
Following her impressive feat, Biles then grabbed a baseball from a nearby woman and threw a strike.
Ultimately, Biles’s stunt proved to be the most exciting facet of the evening. The Astros lost to the Washington Nationals 12 to 3. Now, the Nationals are up two to zero in the best of seven series.
So why was Biles tasked with the ceremonial-turned-acrobatic honor? Well, the gymnast moved to Texas at 3 years old and grew up in Houston, where she still lives and trains to this day. This was actually her second ceremonial pitch at an Astros game. She made her pitching debut in July of 2016 and also added a twist of her own. (Take a look below.)
Yep, she started her pitch with a really relaxed-looking aerial like it was no big deal.
Before her pitch this week, Biles told NBC Sports, “Gymnastics is the only sport I’ve ever done, so when it comes to anything else, I’m literally terrified. So, I get more nervous doing this stuff than competition, which is really weird. So, yeah, hopefully I don’t end up on celebrity fails.” Spoiler alert: She definitely didn’t.
Now that’s what we call putting your own spin on things.
