Baltimore Orioles VP John Angelos Rejects Trump First Pitch
The Vice President of the Baltimore Orioles, John Angeles, does not want Donald Trump to throw out the first pitch at Camden Yards.
U.S. Presidents have been throwing out first pitches since 1910, when William Howard Taft threw the first pitch at a Washington Senators—Philadelphia Athletics game on April 14. Taft threw his first pitch from the stands, as would every president after him until Ronald Reagan. It's believed that Reagan was the first president to throw a first pitch from the field. Long before Reagan bucked tradition, Harry S. Truman was the first president to throw first pitches ambidextrously. He threw one with his right and another with his left.
Reagan's first pitch from the front of the mound came at Wrigley Field in September of 1988. Cubs catcher Damon Berryhill was the recipient of the pitch at the front of the cutout for home plate. The pitch was, fittingly, to the right. Reagan, ever the crafty veteran, pulled out another ball from his pocket and threw a second first pitch. This one was a little high. After the first pitch(es), he announced an inning in the booth with Harry Caray. Reagan started his show biz career as a play-by-play broadcaster for the Cubs in the 1930s, back when broadcasters read wire transcripts and creatively describe a game they weren't actually watching.
Over the years, most presidents have thrown out first pitches on Opening Day, but some have also done the honor at World Series games and all-star games. Jimmy Carter, in fact, never threw out a first pitch on Opening Day, but did throw out the first pitch before Game 7 of the 1979 World Series. If you're going to throw out a first pitch before a Game 7, that's a good one to pick. The Pirates had come back from down three games to one to tie the series against the Baltimore Orioles, then won Game 7 thanks to four hits from the great Willie Stargell. Carter's first pitch at that World Series game was one of seven presidential first pitches at a World Series game. There have been four thrown at All-Star games.
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The presidential leader for all-time first pitches on Opening Day is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with eight. Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower each threw out seven first pitches on Opening Day. Richard Nixon threw the first pitch on Opening Day in Anaheim in 1973, thus breaking the long-standing tradition of presidents throwing the first pitch in Washington D.C. You can't blame Nixon for bucking tradition, there was no team in Washington in 1973.
After Reagan was the first president to throw the first pitch from the field, every president since has done the same. George H.W. Bush had been the captain of the 1948 Yale University baseball team. He was a left-handed thrower and his first pitch on April 3, 1989 was not pretty, but his glove was epic. It looked like something from the days of Ty Cobb. Bush threw his pitch from atop the pitchers mound, but Orioles catcher Mickey Tettleton was standing well in front of the mound, so Bush's strong throw didn't make it all the way to home plate (it would have, if not for Tettleton's positioning).
Bill Clinton took the hill in Cleveland on April 4, 1994 and threw a beautiful pitch from the top of the mound to the glove of the catcher behind home plate. It is believed to be the first first pitch to go the distance. Clinton's performance outshined former major league pitcher Bob Feller, who also participated in the first pitch ceremony. Of course, Feller was 76 years old.
One of the most emotional first pitches by a president was before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series. This was less than two months after the 9/11 attacks. Legendary Yankees announcer Bob Sheppard introduced George W. Bush and the president took the mound at Yankee Stadium to a cheering crowd. He threw a very nice pitch right down the middle and into the catcher's glove.
In his first year in office, Barack Obama became one of the few presidents to throw out a first pitch at an all-star game. The game was in St. Louis. Obama shook hands with Cardinals legend Stan "The Man" Musial before throwing the first pitch to Albert "El Hombre" Pujols. It was a solid presidential first pitch, as first pitches go.
Recently, during an interview on the B-more Opinionated Podcast, the Executive Vice President of the Orioles, John Angelos, was asked if there were any plans to have current president Donald J. Trump throw out the first pitch before an Orioles game at Camden Yards. Angelos said he would not want to see Trump throw out the first pitch until the president apologizes for the many inflammatory and derogatory comments he's made over the last year.
CBS Baltimore reported that Angelos said:
My personal opinion, I think it's incumbent upon any individual who leads a country to step away from those typse of statements, to apologize for those statements and turn the page and then to move forward in embracing the community. Until that happens, it wouldn't be my preference to have the President come throw a pitch."
Angelos specifically referred to negative comments from Trump regarding race, gender, disability, and religion. He also made it clear that he is not rooting against Trump as far as the presidency is concerned. He wants the President to do well, but part of doing well would include being more considerate of all people and to apologize for the things he's said in the past. Angelos wanted to make clear that his feelings are not based on political parties. This isn't a Democrat or Republican thing. It's about being inclusive and supportive of all people and not divisive and negative against specific groups of people.
Trump has thrown out a first pitch before. He did so at a Red Sox—Yankees doubleheader in 2007. He also played baseball when he was younger. According to this Washington Post article, Trump was a right-handed power hitter who faced the shift when he came to the plate (allegedly, I'm guessing. I don't remember anyone using the shift when I was in Little League in the 1980s, but perhaps they did 30 years before that). This was when Trump was in the sixth grade in the late-1950s. A schoolmate, Nicholas Kass, is quoted as saying about Trump, "If he had hit the ball to right, he could've had a home run because no one was there. But he always wanted to hit the ball through people. He wanted to overpower them." It sounds like he was a right-handed Ted Williams, hitting against the shift out of spite
Trump also wrote a poem about baseball that was published in the school yearbook: "I like to hear the crowd give cheers, so loud and noisy to my ears. When the score is 5-5, I feel like I could cry. And when they get another run, I feel like I could die. Then the catcher makes an error, not a bit like Yogi Berra. The game is over and we say tomorrow is another day." His poetry didn't compare to his ability on the field, though. He tweeted in 2013 that he was the "… best bball player in N.Y. State…"
The Baltimore Orioles may not be keen on having Trump throw out the first pitch at Camden Yards, but he'll likely be throwing out the first pitch somewhere. Most likely, it will be in Washington, where many presidents in the past have thrown out first pitches on Opening Day. The Nationals face the Marlins on April 3.
If not in Washington, then a first pitch in New York would be fitting because he's been a longtime fan of the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, the Yankees start the season with a six game road trip, so they don't play their first home game until April 10. The Mets are at home on April 3, facing Atlanta, and they have already announced that Noah Syndergaard will start on Opening Day. It wouldn't be surprising to see Trump throw out the first pitch at that game.
