First Pitch With Foot: Armless Man Tom Willis Makes Ceremonial 'Throw'

Tom Willis threw the ceremonial first pitch at Monday's San Francisco Giants game not with his hand, but with his foot.

Willis, who was born without arms, walked onto the field barefoot and then used his right foot to grip the ball between his big toe and his second toe. With a twist of the body, Willis sent the ball flying towards a strike, according to the New York Post. He was selected to throw the pitch that commemorated the end of the preseason to show baseball-goers the capabilities of the disabled.

The pitch was also a part of Tom Willis’ Pitch for Awareness National Tour in which he travels across the U.S. delivering first pitches and talking about disabilities. The tour’s website says that Willis “learned to use his feet to do everything in life from writing, to driving a car, and even pitching.” He has thrown out the first pitch at more than 22 MLB games.

The MLB tweeted Willis’ pitch afterwards, calling him “inspirational.” The hundreds of retweets and favorites the post has received suggests that others would agree.

Inspirational Tom Willis tosses ceremonial first-pitch strike – with his foot: http://t.co/6VSZtSy6tF pic.twitter.com/frVifnFNqn

— MLB (@MLB) June 16, 2015

Brodie Brazil of NBC Bay Area also praised Willis, calling the pitch “incredible.”

First pitch at tonight's @SFGiants game was (a strike) delivered by a man with no arms. Incredible! pic.twitter.com/17LwnxLMLr

— Brodie Brazil (@brodiebrazilCSN) June 16, 2015

Willis threw his first ceremonial first pitch at a 2008 Padres games. He remembers returning to the stands with his friends and saying, “That was so much fun — maybe I should throw a pitch at all 30 MLB stadiums,” he recounts on his website.



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