The Redskins Blog

Doughty To Toss Pitch For Kidney Disease

Redskins’ safety Reed Doughty’s quest to educate others about kidney disease continues Friday, when he’s scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the Potomac Nationals’ game.

The Nationals are playing host to the Salem Red Sox at 6:05 p.m. Friday in a game supporting the National Kidney Foundation.

Doughty — who is entering his seventh year in the league — talked about the appearance Tuesday in an interview with the Sports Reporters on ESPN980.

Doughty became a supporter of the National Kidney Foundation after his son, Micah, was born with kidney failure and endured 10 months of dialysis. At the age of 18 months, he received a transplant with a kidney donated by his mother.

“While (Micah’s kidney disease) was not preventable, for so many people right here in the nation’s capital, it is,” Doughty told the Sports Reporters. “We’re just trying to go out there and create awareness. The Kidney Foundation is really phenomenal organization that provides early detection screening patient services, education, organ donation – all those types of things.”

Doughty said Micah is currently “doing great.”

“He really is,” Doughty said. “It’s not a cure — he’s still got medicines and things like that, and there will always be a risk for having another transplant, but for right now he’s doing phenomenal. I’m just thankful I can support the Kidney Foundation.”

Doughty — who played baseball until he was 14 — said he’s not going to be nervous when tossing out Friday’s first pitch, despite the pressures of not bouncing the pitch to the plate.

“I can throw the ball a little bit, but I’m not going to try to go out there and throw a fastball for a strike,” he said. “I’m going to throw it in there and make sure it gets there.”

You can almost guarantee Doughty’s first pitch on Friday won’t even approach the level of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory’s ceremonial first pitch on  Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds in 2007 (courtesy of psychogorilla):