Steve Smith has shown the Americans how to do it, launching an absolute missile of a ceremonial first pitch at Boston's Fenway Park.

The first pitch in Major League Baseball is a special event, but it is something of a thankless job.

Either you throw a ball straight for 18 metres and receive gentle applause for not screwing up or you completely flub your attempt and send the ball miles short, high, left or right and amble sheepishly towards home plate while the poor catcher scrambles over to retrieve your stinker.

But Australia's cricket captain found a third option; just throw absolute heat.

As if auditioning to be to the MLB what Jarryd Hayne was to the NFL, 'Smudger' powered his opening pitch in like he was throwing to the unmanned bowler's end in the last over of a Twenty20 final.

If a right-hander had been at bat, Smith probably would have beamed him, giving the batter a walk and possibly kicking off some fisticuffs. As it was, he only beat the catcher, who was no doubt expecting him to roll one in over home plate.

Sure he threw high and right, but he managed to avoid embarrassing himself and, by extension, the country, which can be counted as a win considering some of the efforts that have gone before him.

Cristiano Ronaldo

How can a guy with arms like these have such a terrible arm? ( AFP: Gerard Julien )

Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the world's greatest athletes, but he temporarily forgot that fact when he was asked to throw the first pitch at a 2013 LA Dodgers game.

Ronaldo's pitch was bad — so high and away that the catcher could not even get a glove to it — but even worse was his form, which suggested he had either never thrown a ball in his life or came straight to the stadium after serious shoulder surgery.

Luckily for him, he was saved the walk of shame because he is a big enough star that he was given a second go and more or less redeemed himself with a lob over home plate.

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50 Cent

50 Cent has been involved in gang wars. Like for real. So we're not here to throw shade. Unfortunately, an opening pitch as abysmal as his 2014 effort for the New York Mets simply can't go unmentioned.

Lefties are always an iffy prospect and the Mets' catcher was clearly expecting some heat from this P.I.M.P. as he was in full clobber, including face mask.

Bad news though, 50 Cent forgot to turn up. Instead Curtis Jackson climbed the mound and threw a shocker.

50 Cent? That wasn't worth a quarter, Curtis.

Snoop Dogg

What is it about rappers and being terrible at first pitches?

No-one talks about their manliness more, and yet throwing a ball 60 feet seems utterly beyond them, as further evidenced by Snoop Dogg earlier this year.

Last month, the D-O-Double-G rocked up to a San Diego Padres game, demanded his super read 'DJ Snoopadelic' because he's had more names than Frank Abagnale Jr at this point, and threw wide right.

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Another stinker.

Carly Rae Jepsen

But it is not just the rappers who are rubbish at throwing.

Apparently tiny Canadian pop sensations are also useless on that front, as we discovered when Carly Rae Jepsen was handed the honour by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013.

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The distance and accuracy was way off. It's safe to say the Rays won't be 'calling' again any time soon.

Mariah Carey

Jepsen may have been inspired by Mariah Carey.

Her throw was eerily reminiscent of the Glitter star's abysmal 2008 attempt, but at least Jepsen wore sneakers and a jersey. Carey turned up in a satin jacket, a pair of sunnies she clearly stole from Anastacia (or Bono), and five-inch heels.

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Perhaps it was the shoes that prevented her from actually climbing the pitchers' mound, and yet she still couldn't get the distance.

Stick to Christmas albums, Mariah.

The exception

Honestly, there are too many terrible attempts to include in one article, so let's finish on one of the best.

Before game three of the 2001 World Series, a month-and-a-half after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush strode out to the middle of a thoroughly emotional Yankee Stadium and sent his pitch straight over home plate.

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Strike. And all while wearing a bullet-proof vest.