At least there will be no crowds to give him a Bronx cheer.
President Donald Trump said during his COVID-19 press conference on Thursday that he had been invited to throw out the first pitch at a game at Yankee Stadium in August by Randy Levine, the President of the New York Yankees.
"Randy Levine's a great friend of mine from the Yankees, he asked me to throw out the first pitch," Trump said. "I think Major League Baseball is setting an example by playing at empty stadiums, and so are other sports."
In attendance for the press conference was a man who knows a thing or two about pitching at Yankee Stadium: Mariano Rivera. Trump said he and the greatest closer in baseball history, who is a supporter of the president, were going to join a group of Little Leaguers outside the White House as a way to commemorate the return of baseball.
"I think it's really good that baseball is opening, it looks like football is opening, it looks like sports are opening. It's a tremendous thing for our country, psychologically," Trump said. "We're going to see some beautiful, young Little Leaguers outside, with a great future ahead of them."
Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch at Nationals Park in D.C. to kick off the 2020 baseball season, as the defending World Series Champion Nationals took on Rivera's former team, the Yankees.
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The August 15th game against the Boston Red Sox would mark the first time Trump has taken part in the tradition that every president since William Howard Taft in 1910 has done.
One of the most famous presidential first pitches took place at the old Yankee Stadium, when President George W. Bush had the honors before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, less than two months after the 9/11 terror attacks.
It would also be Trump's first appearance at a baseball game since Game 5 of the World Series last year, where he was shown on the jumbotron at Nationals Park. The reaction was mixed at best, receiving a smattering of applause with loud boos, and a cheer of "Lock Him Up."
Trump won't have to worry about a reaction like that in August however, as Major League Baseball (and many professional sports, for that matter) is not allowing fans to attend any regular season game. That could potentially change for the playoffs.
