St. John's coach Mullin throws first pitch
Brooklyn native, who was an All-Star in NBA, does honors at Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK -- There was a time, years ago, when Chris Mullin dreamed of stepping on a big league field.
On Wednesday, he made it.
"You know what? It was the one sport I progressively got worse at," Mullin said, before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium. "I was really good in fourth grade, decent in sixth grade and then got progressively worse. I hated practice in baseball."
Mullin, the former St. John's and NBA star who has returned to New York to coach at his alma mater, grew up in Brooklyn as a Mets fan. He said he followed both the Mets and Yankees as a kid, and he played baseball in high school at Power Memorial.
Video: KC@NYY: Chris Mullin discusses his first pitch
Mullin turned to playing basketball full time, and he never looked back.
"This is my first time to the new stadium," he said. "It's kind of nostalgic. I haven't been to a baseball game in a long time, but I remember going as a kid. The grass just lit up."