DePaola emphasized that Thielen welcomed the specialists to be a part of the game, though, an invite that he, Joseph and Berry all accepted. The trio joined the “defensive” team and, as it turns out, DePaola was a secret weapon.
The long snapper went from not having a designated role to then pitching for the home run derby and the actual game. He also proved to be the evening’s top hitter.
Four at-bats, four home runs.
“Andrew DePaola is the best baseball player I’ve ever seen. … This guy is hitting it out of the actual park. Not the [softball boundaries] that we have, but the actual ballpark,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said. “You can tell he plays slow-pitch softball every day in the offseason. He’s looking for his next career after football.”
To be fair, DePaola may have hit the most, but he wasn’t the only Viking to hit a round-tripper during the game. Bradbury, Jefferson and Ezra Cleveland recorded two apiece; O’Neill, C.J. Ham and Harrison Smith each notched one.
DePaola hit his final homer at the top of the seventh to tie the game at 14 before Osborn lifted the offense to a win.
“I just wanted to be here to support Adam and the Thielen family. They’re great people,” DePaola said. “We showed up, and I think there were a couple guys who weren’t able to play today, so I happily stepped in, and there was some great pitching – some nice juicy ones to hit – so I did my job.”
He turned some criticism on himself, though, for giving up double-digit runs to the opposition.
“I think pitching for the derby messed me up for the game, because I was throwing up some pretty good ones for the game, as you could tell. They were crushin’ them,” DePaola laughed. “It was fun. I was just trying to find the sweet spot for the guys to put on a good show. I think they were a little too nervous out there.”
Jefferson quipped, “You can really see who the real athletes are and who are just football players out here. It’s funny.”
Some Vikings (including Bradbury, Kirk Cousins and DePaola)…