Paris Johnson Jr. hadn't played baseball -- if you could call it that -- since his T-ball days long ago.
So when he was asked to throw out the first pitch of a Diamondbacks game Friday night against the Braves at Chase Field, it wasn't a sure thing. Especially in light of the last time a Cardinal was asked to throw out a first pitch.
"I heard about what happened with Zach (Ertz)," Johnson said. "(Rookie linebacker) Kyle Soelle, he had been getting on me the past three weeks, 'P, you gotta practice, you gotta practice,' but we didn't.
"We went outside right before we got on the bus (tonight). I was working about keeping my elbow up. For being coached only about a half hour before we showed up, it was perfect."
The Cardinals' first-round picks had regularly made first-pitch stops at a Diamondbacks game for a number of years, but the last had been 2019 first-rounder Kyler Murray. COVID wiped out 2020 and 2021, and last year, the Cardinals didn't have a first-round pick.
But the outing was never just about a ceremonial pitch. This was also about the entire rookie class, drafted and undrafted, getting an outing together. Each member of the group was given an official Diamondbacks jersey with the No. 23 and their name on the back, they hung out on the field pregame and then watched the game from a suite as the home team won.
"It's awesome to decompress and get away from football a little bit," cornerback Kei'Trel Clark said. "That's what we do every single day. Any opportunity we get to come together and bond as a team outside of football and talk about life things, it's exciting. It's been great to enjoy this moment with the guys."
Clark spent much of the time grabbing a still camera and later, a video camera, helping collect some content from the event for team social media.
"This weekend, we had planned on hanging out together," Johnson said. "I think it just shows the growth. When we first came in, we were all in the hotel together but nobody talked. It was 20 guys in the same hotel but by ourselves. Now, we've gotten close enough, we are one group that's strong."
The fact Johnson threw a pitch that didn't hit the dirt and was able to be caught was a bonus.
"That felt a lot bigger than the last time I was on the grass, which was the YMCA," he said.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visited an Arizona Diamondbacks game where Paris Johnson Jr. threw out the ceremonial first pitch
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
The Arizona Cardinals rookie class visits the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 2, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
