r/baseball • u/Admirable-Nebula-122 • 7h ago
7' 9" Olivier Rioux, center for UCI Men's Basketball, threw out the first pitch at the Angels-Cardinals game
Originally posted on [r/angelsbaseball](r/angelsbaseball) by [u/Over_Addendum_217](u/Over_Addendum_217)
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u/glass__beaches Los Angeles Angels 6h ago
Mike Trout
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u/OldBoringWeirdo Baltimore Orioles 5h ago
Trout is back on the IL after attempting to make eye contact
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u/foxmag86 Cleveland Guardians 6h ago
Being that tall is a curse.
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u/spartygw Atlanta Braves 6h ago
I can’t imagine how uncomfortable the world is for him. Nothing is properly scaled at that size.
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u/althanan Seattle Mariners 6h ago
I'm 6'5" and regularly feel like I'm too tall for how society is put together. I cannot imagine how much worse that feeling would be at almost a foot and a half taller.
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u/DadToOne Cincinnati Reds 5h ago
I'm 6'4" and I agree. And if you have the feet to go with that height, it really sucks. Before online became what it is, I remember walking into shoe stores and asking if they had any size 15 or 16. If I was lucky they would have two I could choose from.
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u/halfhere Atlanta Braves 4h ago
I’m a 16. When my wife and I were dating, we were shoe shopping for her and she asked why I never look for myself any when we go. I said “Wanna see how I shoe shop?” And asked the guy at the counter if they had any 16’s. He laughed and said no.
“…and that’s why I don’t look!”
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u/orchid_breeder San Francisco Giants 5h ago
You don’t even have to duck under door frames, although I’m sure you scrape with some shoes. For me that’s the dividing line, when you have to duck to get under doors the world isn’t sized right.
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u/SHOW_ME_PIZZA Kansas City Royals 2h ago
I'm 6'6" and it's not door frames that are the problem. Counters, drawers, tables, carts, wagons, chairs. Things are subtly "short" enough, that multiple interactions with them over time does a number on your back.
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u/althanan Seattle Mariners 1h ago edited 1h ago
Toilets! Oh my god, toilets are the worst when you're tall. So many short toilets are awful to try to sit on when you're tall.
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u/angershark Toronto Blue Jays 5h ago
Tables, counter tops, all of these things are sized for a much MUCH lower height. Posture becomes an issue because you're having to accommodate and then you just end up hunched over, leading to chronic pain. Not to mention the reaching for high things. Constantly reaching on behalf of others...
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u/Jeremiahs__Johnson Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1h ago
Constantly reaching on behalf of others? That’s hilarious.
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u/hjugm Kansas City Royals 6h ago
Always think how much more difficult it is if you don’t have nba money. Guys like Wemby can pay for comfort and bespoke clothing. Imagine uncoordinated 7-footers trying to pay for clothing and other basic things. Travel is borderline impossible, ceilings are too low, and good luck finding a shower at an appropriate height.
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u/lifeisarichcarpet Toronto Blue Jays 4h ago
There's a guy I've seen around Toronto a few times who I'd peg at 7'4" or so. He looks uncomfortable all the time.
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u/LocoEjercito Los Angeles Angels 3h ago
Wonder if he could get the Bata Shoe Museum to pre-pay for a pair of shoes like a sponsor if they can have the shoes for an exhibit when he's done with them.
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u/scene_missing Washington Nationals 4h ago
Yeah a lot of those guys don’t make old age. The heart isn’t built for that shit.
Plus not being able to use anything normal sized, get clothes, etc
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u/ChapstickConnoisseur Seattle Mariners 46m ago
He is the tallest person in the world without some sort of hormone or growth issue. He’s just naturally gigantic so at least his body is pretty proportional compared to most people his size
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u/Di5pel Philadelphia Phillies 6h ago
this looks photoshopped lol
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u/Dunkaroo723 New York Yankees 6h ago
Crazy thing is he doesn’t even have gigantism. He is naturally a nearly 8 foot dude. All his bones and organs are the right size for him.
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u/mcguffinman Tampa Bay Devil Rays • Lakeland F… 5h ago
Yeah compare him to Robert Bobroczkyi. Robert is actually SHORTER than Oli yet his body is stretched to the point it looks uncomfortable to exist.
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u/bidetatmaxsetting Anaheim Angels 5h ago
I googled Robert. I already had a feeling who it was you were talking about and I was right.
Also found out he played that Pirate Clark monster from the recent Backrooms movie.
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u/mcguffinman Tampa Bay Devil Rays • Lakeland F… 4h ago
He was also in Alien Romulus. I’m glad he’s able to use his unique stature to his advantage even if it doesn’t come via sports!
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u/Dunkaroo723 New York Yankees 4h ago
He’s carving himself a nice little niche like Doug Jones as a body horror monster actor.
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u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 1h ago
I believe he is tied with Angus MacAskill as the tallest natural giant in recorded history.
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u/mriforgot Chicago Cubs 4h ago
There was a pretty good photo of him last season towering over a guy who's like 6'8. His height is unreal.
If only he was good at basketball.
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u/Lumpy-Education9878 2h ago
His body seems able to sustain him playing sports. He's just very very slow and uncoordinated. Someone just needs to train him to do the Dirk 1 foot step back
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u/Kapono24 Detroit Tigers 5h ago
Didn't realize he transfered, I pray he gets playing time this year. He'll be must see tv if he can get 20 mpg dunking on mid-majors.
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u/xixbia Netherlands 5h ago
That was my first thought? UCI is not how you write Florida?
Makes sense though, he was clearly not good enough for Florida and wasn't gettting any playtime. Maybe now he'll get some time, and with some luck that will help him improve.
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u/RFKs_brain_worm San Diego Padres 4h ago
Zot zot zot!
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u/quailinthebrush Arizona Diamondbacks 7h ago
need a video of someone that huge throwing a pitch
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u/ArtisticAd9404 7h ago
And like, an actual pitch, not a first pitch pitch.
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u/quailinthebrush Arizona Diamondbacks 7h ago
i was always fascinated watching reilly opelka serve i cant imagine adding a whole ass foot on top
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u/mysterysackerfice Los Angeles Angels • Dumpster Fire 6h ago
I can't tell who's who the first pic. Thankfully, Trout was wearing his jersey.
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u/mcguffinman Tampa Bay Devil Rays • Lakeland F… 5h ago
Here’s what he looked like playing basketball in the NCAA tournament for those of you who are curious
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u/taffyowner Minnesota Twins 1h ago
I just love how that guy talking to him is actually 6’10 and looks like a normal sized person
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u/IAMSPARTACUSSSSS San Diego Padres 4h ago
It would be awful if he became a baseball star, San Diego Studios would be forced to update MLB The Show to include his height!
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u/burnshimself New York Yankees 4h ago
Would have an insane strike zone. Interestingly his knees are only slightly higher than Trout’s, his waist a bit higher but it’s really his torso that is gigantic. His strike zone is probably 5 feet high. You would have to throw what is normally a high fastball just to be in the zone
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u/NakedScrub Boston Red Sox 6h ago
Elite extension. It'd be like the ball just appears in front of the plate.
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u/aRadioKid Tampa Bay Rays 6h ago edited 3h ago
Sucks that this guy’s lifespan will be greatly shortened due to his height, unfair
Edit: Who is downvoting this? I’m giving sympathy to the guy because I know what his future holds. The human body was not meant to be so large, the heart will eventually be shot for having to work extra hard its entire life. Sure, he COULD live a normal life but it is unlikely.
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u/SerpentSystemFailure Boston Red Sox 5h ago
You're getting downvoted, but it will be.
The heart has to pump extra hard to get blood to the extremities. And that doesn't typically work very well in people this high, leading to neuropathy.
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u/A_Texas_Hobo Houston Astros 4h ago
He doesn’t have gigantism, so he has that going for him at least, but overall, you’re sadly correct.
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u/Chris_3eb 4h ago
On average a person of that height has a shorter lifespan, but they don't have to. Bao Xishun is 7'-9" and is currently 74. There aren't a ton of 7'-9" people to compare him with, but Kareem Abdul Jabar is 7'-2" and is 79
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u/tinathefatlardgosh Athletics 4h ago
Sonewhere out there in a Tinder profile is a height requirement of 8’0 that he just missed the cut for.
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u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 1h ago
Always nice to see a Major Leaguer take time to visit a little league team
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u/brandon_in_iowa 1h ago
The only player that can pitch to the Savannah Banana stilts guy at eye level
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u/lifeisarichcarpet Toronto Blue Jays 4h ago
Pictured: a championship-winning athlete and Mike Trout.
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u/teamcrazymatt Minnesota Twins 3h ago
suddenly I'm remembering Loek Van Mil (RIP) and wishing he'd made it to the majors
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u/elliotbonsall Pittsburgh Pirates 3h ago
He should star in some ailen/monsters movie if basketball doesn't work out
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u/PaintedCover 2h ago
Would he be a good option to place as a runner on 3rd with the game in the line?
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u/Admirable_Site_8337 Philadelphia Phillies 1h ago
I mean…..if so much of the game is about leverage…..imagine what he could do as a pitcher or a batter if he built baseball skills. Insanity.
Of course his strike zone would be utterly insane too lol
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u/Random-Person-exe Washington Nationals 1h ago
I wonder if he has to ask airlines to remove the seat in front of him
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u/larrd Philadelphia Phillies 7h ago
Can you imagine the perceived velocity