First Call: Ex-Steelers praise team to new OLB; former Penguin perfects unique MLB first pitch

Friday’s “First Call” introduces you to the Pittsburgh Steelers new outside linebacker. We check in on Pirates starter Mitch Keller, who looks to stay on a hot streak.

A former Penguin “throws” out one of the most unique MLB first pitches you are ever going to see.

And a reader gives us a much needed history lesson.

Friendly endorsement

With a need at outside linebacker, the Steelers signed David Anenih to their 53-man roster off of the Tennessee Titans practice squad Thursday.

Many of his peers in Tennessee are former Steelers OLBs, including Bud Dupree, Derrek Tuszka and Ola Adeniyi.

According to Anenih, he was told he’d “love it” in Pittsburgh.

David Anenih just got here an hour ago. As you might expect he’s excited to be here pic.twitter.com/HtyNAvs7Xn

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 15, 2022

“They just told me that I’m going to like it,” Anenih said via the Steelers YouTube channel. “It’s a great environment. The coaching staff, the players. The whole organization. They just said I was going to enjoy it, that it’s a great city.”

Anenih claims that he was asked to drop in coverage a little bit more in Tennessee than he expects to do in Pittsburgh. He was added to the Steelers roster after T.J. Watt was placed on injured reserve Thursday.

Keep it up, Keller!

Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller is on the mound Friday night for the Pirates against the New York Mets. He’s looking to continue his successful ways of late.

The right-hander is in the midst of pitching 15 consecutive scoreless innings. That includes seven innings of shutout ball against the Cardinals in a 4-3 loss Sept. 11. In his start before that he blanked the New York Mets for six innings as the Pirates won 8-2 on Sept. 6.

That day, the Pirates beat up Taijuan Walker, scoring four runs off of him in five innings. Walker will look for payback Friday, as he takes the mound for the Mets against Keller and the Bucs. He is 11-4 on the year with a 3.48 ERA.

Keller’s ERA is down to 4.01. He is 5-10 on the season.

More Steelers news

• Malik Reed appears to be top choice to replace T.J. Watt, but Steelers may have other options
• After 3-sack preseason, undrafted rookie David Anenih eager to join Steelers
• Steelers’ Najee Harris, Levi Wallace full practice participants, Mason Cole says he’s good

Way to go, GoGo

Former Penguin Alex Goligoski may have just “thrown out” one of the most impressive ceremonial first pitches ever.

The Minnesota Twins had “Minnesota Wild” night at Target Field to celebrate their hockey neighbors from the Twin Cities. Goligoski, now a defenseman for the Wild, is also a native of Minnesota. He was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch.

But the defenseman put a twist on the tradition. He brought his stick and shot the baseball toward home plate. Twins reliever Jovani Moran was behind home plate to catch it.

What a Wild first pitch! ????

(MLB x @SIRIUSXM) pic.twitter.com/yv3zsqqH9L

— MLB (@MLB) September 16, 2022

Perfect strike!

Goligoski’s shooting percentage for the Wild last season was just 2.5%. But if he can put the puck where he wants like he just did with that baseball, Goligoski might win the Norris Trophy this year.

Double-check that

We had to make a correction in Thursday’s “U mad, bro?” Thanks to our loyal reader “Ed in Maine” for catching this one.

We had a very exuberant email from a reader who was dead set on crowning the Steelers season-opening win in Cincinnati as the “greatest defensive performance of all time.”

I felt that was … a little much.

I cited a few more specific Steelers examples that struck me as more appropriate of such a claim. One of them was the franchise’s 16-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings’ in Super Bowl IX. That day the Steel Curtain forced five Vikings turnovers, held them to 119 total yards and collected a safety en route to a 16-6 victory.

But I erroneously mentioned that the Steelers defense only allowed six points along the way. That’s not true. The Vikings only score was on a blocked punt attempt with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Essentially, the Steelers defense pitched a shutout.

So, thanks, Ed. That actually makes the point even stronger. But now I’ve got the facts entirely together.