Remember, kids: pitchers are athletes, too.

A young fan challenged Marcus Stroman to a race around the bases during the Mets right-hander's visit to the Tampa Heat 9U baseball team on Wednesday … and Stroman turned on the jets to win in a photo finish.

Stroman posted the video of the race, saying, "Surprised myself with the burst at the end. My lil’ man was talking about how he was going to dust me. I had to let him know! Lol."

Stroman also spoke to the Heat players, gave pitching advice and helped run some drills during the team's practice.

Earlier this week, Stroman tweeted out an announcement that any high school, college, summer ball or youth teams in the Tampa, Fla., area that want him to visit can email [email protected].