District Seven Secretary Paul Steinman Tosses First Pitch

On Thursday, June 5, District Seven Secretary Paul Steinman had the honor of throwing the first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays/Florida Marlins “Citrus Series” game at Tropicana Field. The Citrus Series is an annual two-game series played in Miami and St. Petersburg between the Rays and Marlins and sponsored by FDOT to promote our statewide pedestrian safety campaign, “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow.” Four lucky District Seven employees were chosen at random in a ticket lottery, winning the chance to attend the game with Secretary Steinman. Catherine Gardyasz and Zenia Gallo of Right of Way, Dale Hall of Maintenance, and Waddah Farah of ISD were all treated to a first-class Rays baseball experience that included on-the-field access and great seats up close to the action.

So how did the first pitch go? Let’s just say Secretary Steinman had some nice velocity on his throw and kept the ball from launching into the stands. (All video evidence has been acquired and destroyed by the D7 Public Information Office.) Actually, the Rays probably could have used the secretary in the pitching rotation that night as they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but eventually fell to the Marlins, 11-6.