Luke Rockhold to Throw Out First Pitch at Oakland A?s Game

You know you've made it as an athlete when a Major League Baseball team asks you to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at one of their games.� Such is the case with Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold.� Two weeks ago, Rockhold was handling challenger Tim Kennedy in the cage; on Monday, he gets to drop by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and put one across home plate (the A's are playing the Tampa Bay Rays, if that means anything to you).� Of course, this isn't the first time that an MMA fighter has been granted this honor.� Other examples include:

• UFC light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones, who threw out the first pitch for a San Diego Padres game back in July, 2010.

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• Former UFC light-heavyweight champ Rashad Evans, who tossed one out for a Miami Marlins game in June of this year.

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• Former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin, who did the honors for a Cincinnati Reds game.

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• Former UFC welterweight star Chris Lytle, who threw one home for a Los Angeles Dodgers game.

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• Former WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres, who did one up for the Chicago White Sox.

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• Strikeforce fighter K.J. Noons, who rocketed one home for a Houston Astros game.

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• UFC light-heavyweight fighter Brandon Vera, who did the same for a Padres game earlier this month.

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You know what.� Now that I think about it, this whole throwing-out-the-ceremonial-first-pitch thing isn't that special after all.� As you were.

Jim Genia tweets here and wrote this book.� Believe that!

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