Ceremonial first pitch

 

 foto President Roosevelt April 16, 1940; he would hit newspaper camera; Joe Cronin Red Sox

“Baseball provides a recreation which does not last over two hours or two hours and a half, and which can be got for very little cost. And, incidentally, I hope that night games can be extended because it gives an opportunity to the day shift to see a game occasionally.” — Franklin Roosevelt January 15, 1942 to Baseball commissioner Landis [who hated Roosevelt]

William Howard Taft once played base ball, he won the presidential election of 1908, and he was the first president to throw the first pitch of the baseball season. Franklin Delano Roosevelt threw out the first pitch eight times to begin a season, twice in World Series games, and once in an All Star game. Franklin had polio, had to clean up the Republican Depression of 1929, and manage wars to defeat Hitler and Tojo. Trump once played baseball, he will not throw out the first pitch—he does not want to hear the boos.