The Seahawks quarterback throws the first pitch of the game for a strike to honorary catcher Richie Sexson on Opening Day.

The Pittsburgh Steelers? Hah. They didn't scare Matt Hasselbeck nearly as much as the thought of embarrassing himself in front of 45,000 fans.

When the Seattle Seahawks' quarterback threw out the first pitch at Monday's Seattle Mariners-Los Angeles Angels game, he just didn't want to ruin his reputation.

"I think I was more nervous for that than I was for the Super Bowl," Hasselbeck said afterward. "Most of my teammates, they weren't exactly supportive; they were heckling me."

Fortunately for the Boston native and longtime Red Sox fan, Hasselbeck's debut as an unofficial opening-day starter went just fine. He threw the ball over the plate, hitting ceremonial catcher Richie Sexson's glove right around the belt.

"They heckled me quite a bit. It wasn't quite the support I was looking for," Hasselbeck said of accompanying Seahawks teammates Sean Locklear, J.P. Darche, Isaiah Kacyvenski, Seneca Wallace, Jerheme Urban, Chris Spencer, Marcus Trufant and Mack Strong. "But hey, it worked out. In (6-foot-8) Richie Sexson, I couldn't have picked a better guy to be the catcher. I just told myself: if you miss, miss high."

While the thought of a Pro Bowl quarterback misfiring on a meaningless pitch might sound far-fetched, Hasselbeck said it's not as easy as it sounds. Although he pitched in high school - "I did," Hasselbeck said, "but not well" - the Seahawks' quarterback said he was just hoping to get the ball over the plate Monday.

"I think for whatever reason people think that if you can throw a football, you can throw a baseball," he said. "That's not necessarily the case. I'm living proof."