Kurt Busch at center of first pitch drama as Fox Sports air re-run from NASCAR driver rather than Amy Schneider live
Olivia House
Published Sep 30, 2026
NASCAR star Kurt Busch threw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game this weekend.
That's what it would've looked like to viewers on television, anyway.
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Busch appeared on TV coverage just before the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Saturday to throw the first pitch.
But fans in the stadium at Oracle Park saw a different story.
Amy Schneider, who was the first transgender contestant on 'Jeopardy' to participate in the Tournament of Champions, was invited to throw the first pitch on Giants' Pride Day.
But broadcasters Fox Sports instead showed a taped first pitch from Busch rather than Schneider.
Busch threw the ceremonial first pitch prior to Thursday's game between the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies.
A Fox Sports spokesperson insists they had no intention to 'overshadow' Schneider and instead were trying to promote Nascar.
A statement provided to SFGate.com said: "On Saturday, as part of a promotional package for the weekend’s NASCAR race in northern California, we aired a taped first pitch of famed NASCAR driver Kurt Busch.
“This promotion was in no way meant to overshadow the ceremonial first pitch for the game as it is not routine for us to air.”
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Just before the game on Saturday, play-by-play announcer, Adam Amin said: “Kurt Busch threw out the first pitch.
"Of course, we’ve got the NASCAR race tomorrow coming up from Sonoma. You’ll see that on the Fox networks.”
And Giants NBC Sports Bay Area announcer Duane Kuiper addressed the confusion during Sunday's game.
Kuiper said: “I wanted to make a correction from what I watched yesterday on the Fox broadcast.
"The broadcast implied that Kurt Busch threw out the first pitch yesterday, which was not true.
"Kurt Busch threw out the first pitch on Thursday. It was Amy Schneider from ‘Jeopardy!’ fame who threw out the first pitch on Pride Day yesterday.
"So I just wanted to make sure that she got her due.”
