Vikings take batting practice at Twins SKOL Night

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As part of SKOL Night at Target Field, some members of the Minnesota Vikings took batting practice before the Twins’ game against the Cleveland Indians.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, defensive end Everson Griffen, safety Harrison Smith and wide receiver Adam Thielen were among those who stepped up to the plate. 

Griffen showed off his power by launching one into the seats in left field.

“I can hit them a little bit, you know,” said Griffen. “A little bit more coaching, I feel like I could do it even better ... [Batting practice] is going a lot slower. When you’ve got a fastball, changeup, see a curveball coming at you and you’ve got to judge it off his hand – that’s a different story.”

The Vikings players say they felt like they did pretty well in the cage, but Twins Manager Paul Molitor says some of them could probably benefit from a little more practice.

“I think they’re having fun,” said Molitor. “It doesn’t always work that being a good athlete and a highly successful professional athlete means you’re going to be able to go out and hit the baseball very well. If I was a football player and the condition those guys are in, I would probably try to muscle it too. Their swings were just a little unpolished, so a little work. If we get them out there for a week, we could do something.”