Police K-9 bitten by a rattlesnake 'throws' out first pitch at Rays game

People regularly throw out ceremonial first pitches, and sometimes twice on Sundays. But you probably haven't seen the first pitch "run" from the mound. That was the case Friday, as Ajax, a K-9 from the St. Petersburg Police Department, delivered the baseball to outfielder Steven Souza Jr. before the Rays-Blue Jays game at Tropicana Field. 

.@StPetePD K-9 Ajax, who was bitten by a rattlesnake while pursuing a suspect, delivers tonight's #Rays first pitch: pic.twitter.com/cece1vRmrW

- Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 24, 2015

Ajax was bitten by a rattlesnake while pursuing a suspect in March, requiring antivenin and plasma transfusions following the attack. Since then, he's turned into a Tampa Bay-area celebrity bigger than former Backstreet Boys member and Tampa native, Nick Carter. 

Ajax was accompanied to the mound by his handler, Officer Joseph Lehmann, and dropped the ball just behind home plate for a strike of sorts. 

It was still a better pitch than the one used to sell this movie: