Willie Mays showed Kevin Durant how to throw out a first pitch

Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before a Major League Baseball game seems like a pretty stressful deal, even — and maybe especially — for an elite professional athlete. It’s an honor to be chosen, of coure, but you’re out there all by yourself in front of tens of thousands of people to do something that’s not natural to you, and nobody wants to follow in the footsteps of John Wall, Nick Young, Paul Pierce, Amir Johnson. (Or, heaven forfend, 50 Cent.)

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In tough times like these, it’s always a good idea to seek the aid and guidance of experienced professionals … like, for example, one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Luckily for newly minted Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, the San Francisco Giants happened to have one of those on hand before Friday night’s matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals:

Emboldened by the encouragement and instruction of the great Willie Mays, the 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA scoring champ took to the practice mound with confidence:

… and, clearly, carried the tutelage of “The Say Hey Kid” close to his heart as he strode to the hill at AT&T Park:

A touch outside, but still a very respectable showing from the two-time Olympic gold medalist. Big up yourself, KD.

Clearly invigorated by Durant’s Mays-infused offering and basking in the afterglow of KD chopping it up with Hunter Pence and Brandon Crawford, the Giants went on to beat the Cards, 8-2. They’d go on to lose their next two games to St. Louis, though, suggesting that — with so little room for error in the race for one of the National League’s two wild card spots — Giants management should probably consider making Durant their all-time first-pitch-thrower. (And maybe a late reliever, just in case.)

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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