Pat McAfee visits Victory Field

There was a white out at Victory Field early Friday evening, and Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee was the only one participating.

McAfee -- bedecked in white Converse Chuck Taylors, white Jordan brand shorts and a white T-shirt emblazoned with the image of the American flag -- had come out to the ballpark to take a round of batting practice with the Indianapolis Indians and throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game.

Photo courtesy the Indianapolis Indians.

 "I figured, you know, it's baseball," McAfee said about his shoes.

His get-up included a trucker-style hat advertising the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, turned backward with the bill bent up at the end. McAfee only took his hat off for his round in the cage, when he wore an Indians batting helmet.

When McAfee stepped down out of the seating bowl and onto the Victory Field playing surface, the Indians had already began taking batting practice. "Oh man, he's throwing real fast," McAfee said about Wyatt Toregas, who was pitching. "He's throwing real fast."

Trying to get a feel for the bat before getting into the change, McAfee realized he wasn't sure whether he was a right-handed or left-handed hitter. Eventually, McAfee stepped up to the plate with a right-handed stance. It took him a few swings to make consistent contact that resulted in fair balls.

"Shit," McAfee lamented after fouling off a few pitches in a row before immediately turning around to apologize to the grade-school-aged son of his Colts escort.

After smacking a few soft line drives into left field, McAfee flipped around to the left-handed batters box. The result was decidedly worse as McAfee only managed to lift shallow pop flys into right field. He quickly turned back around to the right side.

McAfee managed to make more solid contact with quite a few pitches near the end of his round. His first really hard-hit ball shot down the left-field line and nearly sniped Indianapolis infielder Yamaico Navarro, who was making his way back onto the field.

Finally, McAfee launched a long fly ball that ended up in foul territory but smashed into the top of the Captain Morgan Cove area in the left-field corner of the stadium. Deciding that was the best he was going to get, McAfee ended on that one and left the cage with a smile on his face.

After his round of batting practice, McAfee played catch in foul territory with Indians pitcher Kris Johnson, warming up for his first pitch -- and looking for advice. The punter was hoping to end up with a better result than Colts quarterback Drew Stanton, who had one-hopped a ceremonial first pitch at Victory Field earlier in the season.

Indians outfielder Brandon Boggs let McAfee borrow his glove to use while playing catch.

"This is a sick glove, by the way," McAfee told Boggs as the latter headed into the dugout for a backup. "I played in a celebrity softball game, bought one at Walmart; It looked nothing like this."

After a few throws, some of which were out of Johnson's reach, McAfee began to wonder about his pitching prowess.

"What do you think that was, 70 [m.p.h.]?" McAfee asked, to which Johnson replied simply with laughter.

A few throws later, Johnson gave McAfee a boost of confidence: "That might be 60 right there."

When McAfee finally made his way to the mound for the first pitch -- nearly two hours later -- his training had apparently worn off. His throw sailed well wide of catcher Tony Sanchez and skipped to the backstop.

But it registered 70 m.p.h. on the stadium radar gun.

Michael Raines writes for indyindians.com and can be reached at therainesdelay@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Michael__Raines and, if you are so inclined, you can follow Pat McAfee at www.twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow.