Legendary gymnast Simone Biles threw out the first pitch at the Nationals vs. Astros game Wednesday night after backflips and twists. Despite being an Astros fan, Biles was met with cheers and applause from fans of both sides. But President Donald Trump is concerned about trying to throw out a "first pitch" to the World Series game when he attends the game on Sunday.
According to White House pool reports Thursday, Trump said he would be attending the game.
But when asked if he'll throw out the first pitch, Trump said: “I don't know, they got to dress me up in a lot of heavy armor — I’ll look too heavy."
Presidents must wear extensive body armor when doing something like the first pitch of a game and game attendees are screened with heightened security.
Former President Barack Obama threw out the first pitch at the Nationals game in 2010 lad in khaki slacks and a fluffy Nats jacket. Once he took the mound, Obama donned a Chicago White Sox hat he was hiding in a pocket. Obama, who is a left-handed pitcher, threw the ball way off to the right-side of the catcher, but did make it to the plate. Obama was disappointed in himself according to an interview he did with ESPN cited in The Baltimore Sun.
“We do a lot of tough stuff as president. And by definition, you don’t end up being president if you don’t handle stress well. [But] nothing is more stressful than throwing a first pitch,” he told the sports site during the broadcast of an exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team. “They just hand you the ball. And I don’t care if you’ve been practicing ahead of time. When they just hand you the ball ...”
Obama, who grew up in Hawaii, is an avid basketball fan, and frequently played golf.
“There is something about baseball that is so fundamentally woven into our culture. And in some ways, at a time in our lives where everything’s a mile a minute and kids are on their phones all the time and there’s just this constant stream of information, there’s nothing like going to a ballpark and just everything slowing down a little bit,” he said.
Trump played baseball as a young person and tells a tale that he was scouted by the Phillies and Boston Red Sox when he was younger.
“I was captain of the baseball team,” Trump told MTV about his baseball life in high school. “I was supposed to be a professional baseball player. Fortunately, I decided to go into real estate instead. I played first base and I also played catcher. I was a good hitter. I just had a good time.”
Until Trump decides to throw out a first-pitch, here's Barack Obama's second first-pitch below:
UPDATE: David Nakamura of The Washington Post reports Trump will not be throwing out the first pitch.
