St. Louis, July 15: US President Barack Obama threw the ceremonial opening pitch at the 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the left-hander successfully hurling the ball to home plate.
Obama wore a black jacket bearing the logo of his favorite team, the Chicago White Sox, as he took the ball from retired St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial and jogged to the pitcher’s mound as the Busch Stadium crowd cheered.
Continuing a presidential tradition linked to the American pastime that dates back nearly a century, Obama tossed the ball 60.5 feet into the glove of Cardinals star Albert Pujols, who leaned forward slightly to make the grab.
The moment brought a quick presidential fist pump in celebration.
“This is as much fun as I’ve had in quite some time,” Obama said during a second-inning stint in the television commentary booth.
Obama greeted players from both the American and National leagues in their locker rooms before the game, sharing jokes with such stars as Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees and Pujols.
Suzuki asked Obama to autograph a baseball and the president did, handing it back to the Japanese superstar and saying, “Here you go, Hall of Famer.”
Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino, the first non-pitcher in the major leagues from Hawaii, greeted fellow Hawaii-born American Obama with Macadamian nuts from their birthland.
Asked if he had a good curve ball as a southpaw, Obama said, “If I did, I wouldn’t have run for President.”
The first African-American US president enjoyed showing his support for the American League’s Chicago White Sox over the National League’s Chicago Cubs, whose 101-year championship drought is the longest in US sports.
“Everyone knows I’m a White Sox fan,” Obama said. “My wife thinks I look cute in this jacket. Between those two things, why not?”
As for the Cubs, Obama said, “I’m not a Cubs hater. I just don’t root for them. That’s all.”
White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle, a member of the American League All-Stars, said it was a special moment to meet Obama before the game and to see him wear the Sox jacket.
“That was awesome,” Buehrle said. “He said he might wear something from the White Sox. I thought he was joking around. It was pretty cool.”
Obama enjoyed his chance to relax at the ballpark the way millions of people do worldwide.
“It’s the national pastime,” Obama said. “It’s such a reminder of what’s great about this country. It’s a real treat.”
Obama noted that after his only other ceremonial pitch, as a US Senator in the 2005 American League finals, the White Sox won eight games in a row to capture their first World Series crown since 1917.
“If anybody needs a lefty….” Obama said.
Obama, who played basketball instead of baseball as a youth, admitted to practicing some throws in the White House Rose Garden and said, “Some of these natural moves aren’t so natural for me.”
Obama joked with Pujols about losing the Home Run Derby the night before to Milwaukee slugger Prince Fielder, but sensed he had perhaps said too much.
–Agencies