On April 5, 2010, Barack Obama took the mound to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day in Washington. Kennedy in 1962.Īn event at least as big, however, occurred two years later. When he opened for the Nationals in 2008, he became the first president to christen a new D.C. and Cincinnati, Bush became the first president to open seasons in four different cities. In throwing out first pitches in Milwaukee, St. Bush followed Clinton with some first-pitch firsts of his own. Though Clinton set a precedent, George W. When Clinton threw out the first ball in Baltimore shortly after taking office in 1993 -former Orioles announcer Jon Miller introduced Clinton as "a rookie who just moved into the area from Arkansas," according to Michael Kelly of The Times-he became the first president to throw a first pitch from the mound that made it to the catcher on the fly. What Clinton did do, though, was take the budding mound tradition to the next level. And though Taft started the tradition by aiming his first ball at Walter Johnson, things evolved to where the first ball was thrown into a rabble of players who would scramble to own such a cherished souvenir. At first, the president always threw from the stands. The format of the presidential first ball was also slow to change. And as you can see, it remained an Opening Day treat for Washington fans for a long time. In all, presidents have thrown out the first ball at seven World Series (most recently 2001) and four All-Star Games (most recently 2009).įor the most part, however, they've kept the first-ball tradition confined to Opening Day. Roosevelt threw out the first ball at the 1937 All-Star Game. Some years later, the tradition experienced another first when Franklin D. It initially happened in 1915, when Wilson did the honors at Game 2 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. That wasn't the first World Series to feature a presidential first ball, mind you. He saved face by throwing out the first ball at Game 7 of the 1979 World Series. To date, the only president to avoid throwing out a first pitch on Opening Day was Jimmy Carter between 19. Presidential First Pitches on Opening Day Thus the stage was set for what happened on Opening Day a year later. And on April 19, there was Taft at the ballpark for his first time as president.Īpparently, he loved it. Sherman not long after Taft took office in 1909. Mead and Paul Dickson wrote in Baseball: The Presidents' Game that Noyes presented season passes to Taft and Vice President James S. Evidently, Washington Senators owner Thomas C. Provided the seat was big enough for his 300-pound frame, Taft didn't mind sitting for long periods of time. His successor, on the other hand, was the opposite. That was when Theodore Roosevelt was in office, but he was much too active to spend a day at the park. The sport's image didn't get better until Ban Johnson introduced some standards in the early 1900s. Largely, it's safe to presume, out of an awareness of baseball's seedy reputation. Though Benjamin Harrison was the first president to attend a major league game in 1892, John Sayle Watterson wrote in his book, The Games Presidents Play, that other presidents stayed away.
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