J.J. Watt takes BP with Astros, looks very good doing it

Defensive end J.J. Watt can do it all. He had 20.5 sacks and he deflected 16 passes. That had never happened before in the history of the NFL. The guy was the Defensive Player of the Year, and very easily could have been the MVP. In honor of his many achievements for the Houston sports scene, Watt is throwing out the first pitch before the Astros duel the Rangers on Opening Night.

And here he is taking batting practice.

Look at that swing. He's a little off-balance, but that's a guy who loves crushing baseballs. He got to wear his customary No. 99 jersey, which adds a nice bit of flair to the whole scene.

"I took a full bullpen session on Wednesday, throwing 45 pitches," Watt said, in preparation for his ceremonial pitch. "I didn't swing a bat before coming out here, and it was embarrassing for me. I don't want that to happen Opening Night so I took a full session and will be ready to go Sunday night."

Although he's a Pro Bowl defender in the NFL, his defense probably wouldn't be great in the Majors. But hey, the Astros are in the AL now. J.J. 'Swat' sounds like a DH, right?

Started out rusty, found my groove near the end. Thanks to the @astros for having me out at batting practice today.

- JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 29, 2013

-- Dakota Gardner / MLB.com