Stephen A. Smith Jokingly Thanks Kid Cudi for Bouncing 1st Pitch at Guardians Game

After spending most of Friday's episode of First Take lamenting his failed first pitch at Yankee Stadium, Stephen A. Smith was bailed out by Kid Cudi before the Baltimore Orioles-Cleveland Guardians game.

The Cleveland-born rap star threw out the first pitch at Progressive Field on Friday night, but it bounced short of home plate and way outside before going all the way to the backstop.

Smith expressed his gratitude to Kid Cudi for proving it's not easy to throw a first pitch.

The outspoken ESPN host actually made a pretty good throw because the catcher didn't have to move his glove at all, but the pitch bounced before making it to the plate.

Appearing on YES Network during the Yankees game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Smith said he was "disgusted" with himself and called the pitch "a chokejob."

Some of the reaction from Smith's ESPN colleagues was over the top. Adam Schefter, for instance, (jokingly) said it "might rival 50 Cent's first pitch at Citi Field."

For those who might not remember, 50 Cent came close to hitting the photographer who was 10 feet up the first-base line than the catcher with his pitch before a Pittsburgh Pirates-New York Mets game in May 2014.

History has shown throwing out a first pitch isn't an easy task for even the best athletes. Michael Jordan is arguably the best NBA player of all-time, but that didn't stop him from overthrowing Sammy Sosa at Wrigley Field in 1998.

On the bright side, both Smith and Kid Cudi got to see their teams win. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 5-3 on Thursday night. Cleveland got a walk-off 9-8 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.