Huge Rangers fan Madison Kocian delivers gold-worthy first pitch

Gold medal winning gymnast and Dallas native Madison Kocian threw out the first pitch Saturday. Before the game, she met Rangers players, including Adrian Beltre, who gave her a signed bat. Kocian described herself as a huge Rangers’ fan. Her first-pitch windup included a handstand.

Her dad was attending a Rangers’ game the night her mother went in to labor with her in June 1997 and had to leave early to go to the hospital. Her favorite Rangers’ memory?

“Probably [attending] the World Series when they were playing the St. Louis Cardinals,” said Kocian, who is attending UCLA. “Hopefully, in October I’ll come back and see some [World Series] games.”

Kocian, 19, and her USA gymnastics teammates have been on a whirlwind tour of appearances since the Rio Olympics, including presenting Beyonce with a Video Music Award last week. She said meeting Beltre barely edged out Beyonce.

“That’s hard but I have to go with Beltre,” she said. “I’m a very big Rangers fan so Beltre giving me the bat was just the cherry on top.”

This story was originally published September 3, 2016 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Huge Rangers fan Madison Kocian delivers gold-worthy first pitch."