Have you ever seen video of kids rioting in some distant corner of the world … and then they start to throw stuff at the authorities?

Bricks. Rocks. Tear-gas canisters back in the direction from which they came …

And have you ever noticed what horrendous throwing motion most of those those kids have?

I blame it on soccer, when they get it wrong. And I credit baseball, when they get it right.

Consider these two scenarios:

Palestianians in the streets, or maybe Ukrainians, and the video on CNN or BBC clearly shows the demonstrators are awful at throwing “overhand”, as we call it.

In less enlightened days, we would have said these guys — and nearly all are men or boys — are “throwing like girls”.

Their throwing has a sort of shot-put motion to it. The body is not involved. It’s all in the arm. In many cases, they lead with the wrong foot. Right foot forward as they are trying to throw right-handed.

Why can’t these guys throw correctly?

Because the sport they generally play prohibits them from handling the ball — except in a two-hands-over-the-head motion — which is even more unsuited for tossing tear gas back at the cops.

Now, if rocks or bottles or bricks were good for kicking, rioters in South Africa, or Thailand, or wherever, would show better form.

I have to single out for praise a particular batch of agitators. Those of Venezeula.

Unlike those other countries, Venezuela plays quite a bit of baseball. And the people in the streets there, angry with the misrule of the Maduro regime, are showing very nice motion when hurling missiles.

A two-step run-up … with the foot on the non-throwing side of the body planted … a throwing motion that begins with the elbow and hand distinctly behind the shoulder … the elbow coming forward, the hand above it, whipping through a motion that leads to a wrist snap — and, I’m sure, throws of far superior accuracy as well as velocity and distance, compared to the rock-throwers from soccer countries.

Kinda makes you proud to be an American, having taught the Venezuelans how to throw correctly while teaching the rules of baseball.

Probably should warn them, though, if they are going to be in the streets a lot, that throwing heavy objects too often and too hard may lead to elbow or shoulder problems. Tendinitis or rotator cuff problems.

In the meantime, the baseball chuckers are far more likely to get tear gas back over into police lines.