Thanks to the thousands of screaming girls that follow him wherever he goes, pop music sensation Justin Bieber will likely take over the Internet via Twitter.
Next on his path of conquest? Baseball.
The 16-year-old Canadian was in town and threw the first pitch at Monday's White Sox game against the Royals. As if that weren't thrilling enough for Bieber, he also played the part of catcher when a foul ball flew his way later in the game.
If you don't know who Bieber is, you're probably over the age of 20. The teen heartthrob has utilized social media—YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook—to successfully boost his appeal and market his songs to young people.
In fact, Bieber was Tweeting while he was at Monday's baseball game. After his less-than-stellar pitch, he wrote, "I need to work on my curveball. Hey I'm Canadian we play hockey. Haha. I love Chicago."
Later in the third inning, Paul Konerko tapped a foul ball into the stands. It brushed the fingers of one hopeful fan before landing in Bieber's hands.
"I jumped up and tried to grab it, but it tipped off my fingers and went into [Bieber's] suite," Alex Rittel of Valparaiso told the Sun-Times. "I was like, 'Oh, man, that's a bummer.' Then, the next thing I know, he walks up to me and says, 'Here you go, man.'"
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At Rittel's request, Bieber signed the ball. Now, the 18-year-old senior is a hit with the girls back at school.
Bieber's advice?
"Rittel I’m telling you," he wrote on Twitter, "use that ball for prom."
Indeed. There's no shame in Bieber's game.
Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign.
