Obama to Toss First Pitch at All-Star Game
Athlete in Chief to show his stuff on the pitcher's mound
Updated 10:00 PM EDT, Tue, Jun 23, 2009
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on July 14.
The White House said on Tuesday that MLB's focus on community service matches with Obama's service initiative this summer, known as United We Serve.
"The central theme of the 2009 All-Star game is community service, celebrating the extraordinary work being done by ordinary people," MLB commissioner Bud Selig said. "We are thrilled that we can come together with President Obama, who has encouraged a renewed spirit of national service, and illustrate a call to action in our communities. President Obama will continue a great tradition that joins our nation's leader and the national pastime."
Obama, a Chicago White Sox fan, will be the fourth president to throw out the first pitch at an All-Star game, following John F. Kennedy (1962 in Washington), Richard Nixon (1970 in Cincinnati) and Gerald Ford (1976 in Philadelphia).
In addition, Franklin D. Roosevelt attended the 1937 game in Washington, and George H.W. Bush went to the 1991 game at Toronto with Canada Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the 1992 game at San Diego with President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico.
Ford (1978 in San Diego) and Ronald Reagan (1989 in Anaheim) attended as former presidents.
As a U.S. Senator, Obama threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Chicago White Sox defeated the Anaheim Angels 2-1 in Game 2 of the 2005 American League Championship Series.
Copyright Associated Press
First Published: Jun 23, 2009 8:46 PM EDT
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