William Howard Taft is the first US President to throw the ceremonial First Pitch at a Major League Baseball game. Taft started the Washington Senators’ season in 1910 and with it started a precedent followed by many of his successors.
Some presidents have mastered the art of the first pitch and others have failed miserably. The practice began with presidents making the throw from a first-row seat in the stands. It has evolved into the president taking the field and throwing from the mound.
President John Kennedy threw from the first-row at the 1962 All-Star Game while wearing a suit.
President Ronald Reagan in a Cubs jacket threw out the First Pitch, from the mound, at a game in Wrigley Field in 1988. Considering he was 77 at the time, the throw ain’t so bad.
Before he was president, Donald Trump threw an absolute heater at a Minor League game in 2004. He short-hopped home, but it was a laser.
President Barack Obama in a White Sox jacket short-hopped home plate at the 2009 All-Star Game. He tried to do a pitcher’s windup on the mound, but his release ruined it for him. It was not a laser.
President Bill Clinton carved a strike from the mound like a true southpaw in 1993 at Camden Yards while wearing Orioles gear.
The best First Pitch ever goes to President George W. Bush in Game 3 of the World Series in 2001.
The context is what makes the pitch so significant. Our country was cowardly attacked by Islamist terrorists on September 11th of that year. A month later, the first World Series game in New York City was a tremendously huge stage. The country was on edge. President Bush had a bulletproof vest on. He went to the rubber, not the bottom of the mound. He didn’t hesitate. He threw a perfect strike. It was incredible. The symbolism can’t be overstated. The American President, our chief diplomat to the world, standing on a hill, defiant, unafraid, pulls back and fires a strike right down the middle. Anything else would not have delivered an impact. Anything else would not have been memorable. But a strike gave our country an exclamation mark to celebrate at a time when we needed a reminder of how truly exceptional America is.
It was great moment for every American. Here’s the clip->