Ceremonial first pitch

Woodrow Wilson, Washington Senators home opener v. New York Yankees, Griffith Stadium, April 20, 1916.

Richard Nixon, Opening Day, Washington Senators v. New York Yankees, RFK Stadium, April 7, 1969.

Ronald Reagan, Chicago Cubs v. Pittsburgh Pirates, Wrigley Field, September 30, 1988.

George W. Bush, 2001 World Series Game 3, Yankee Stadium, October 30, 2001.

The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team, but the ritual changed after Ronald Reagan threw the first pitch on the field at an unscheduled appearance at a Baltimore Orioles game. Now, the guest stands in front of the pitcher's mound and throws towards the home plate. He or she may also sometimes stand on the mound (as a pitcher would). The recipient of the pitch is usually a player from the home team.

The ceremonial thrower may be a notable person (dignitary, celebrity, former player, etc.) who is in attendance, an executive from a company that sponsors the team (especially when that company has sponsored that night's promotional giveaway), or a person who won the first pitch opportunity as a contest prize. Often, especially in the minor leagues, multiple first pitches are made.

Presidential first pitches

Former Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu was the first person to throw a ceremonial first pitch, doing so at a 1908 game in Koshien Stadium.^[1]

President William Howard Taft started the American tradition in 1910 at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., on the Washington Senators' Opening Day. Every President since Taft has thrown out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch, either for Opening Day, the All-Star Game, or the World Series, usually with much fanfare.^[2]

Presidential First Pitches

Year	President	Ballpark	Notes
1910 Opening Day	William Howard Taft	National Park	First sitting President to participate in Opening Day ceremonies; preceded Washington Nationals–Philadelphia Athletics game on April 14.[3]
1911 Opening Day	William Howard Taft	National Park
1912 Opening Day	Vice President James S. Sherman	National Park	Taft did not attend because of the death of his friend Archibald Butt in the Titanic disaster.
1913 Opening Day	Woodrow Wilson	National Park
1915 Opening Day	Woodrow Wilson	National Park
1915 World Series	Woodrow Wilson	Baker Bowl
1916 Home Opener	Woodrow Wilson	National Park	Washington Nationals defeated New York Yankees on April 20.[4]
1921 Opening Day	Warren Harding	Griffith Stadium	First loss for the Senators with a President throwing out the first ball.
1922 Opening Day	Warren Harding	Griffith Stadium
1923 Opening Day	Warren Harding	Griffith Stadium	Harding also threw out the first ball in the New York Yankees opening game, two days before.
1924 Opening Day	Calvin Coolidge	Griffith Stadium
1924 World Series	Calvin Coolidge	Griffith Stadium
1925 Opening Day	Calvin Coolidge	Griffith Stadium
1925 World Series	Calvin Coolidge	Griffith Stadium
1927 Opening Day	Calvin Coolidge	Griffith Stadium
1928 Opening Day	Calvin Coolidge	Griffith Stadium
1929 Opening Day	Herbert Hoover	Griffith Stadium
1929 World Series	Herbert Hoover	Shibe Park	Game 5, October 14.
1930 Opening Day	Herbert Hoover	Griffith Stadium
1930 World Series	Herbert Hoover	Shibe Park
1931 Opening Day	Herbert Hoover	Griffith Stadium
1932 Opening Day	Herbert Hoover	Griffith Stadium
1933 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1934 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1935 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1936 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1937 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1937 All-Star Game	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1938 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1940 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium	Roosevelt's pitch hit a Washington Post camera.[5]
1941 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Griffith Stadium
1946 Opening Day	Harry Truman	Griffith Stadium
1947 Opening Day	Harry Truman	Griffith Stadium
1948 Opening Day	Harry Truman	Griffith Stadium
1949 Opening Day	Harry Truman	Griffith Stadium
1950 Opening Day	Harry Truman	Griffith Stadium	Truman threw out two balls, one left-handed and one right-handed.
1951 Opening Day	Harry Truman	Griffith Stadium
1952 Opening Day	Harry Truman	Griffith Stadium
1953 Opening Day	Dwight Eisenhower	Griffith Stadium	Eisenhower skipped Opening Day to play golf at Augusta National, but the game was postponed by rain and he threw out the first ball at the rescheduled game.
1954 Opening Day	Dwight Eisenhower	Griffith Stadium
1955 Opening Day	Dwight Eisenhower	Griffith Stadium
1955 World Series	Dwight Eisenhower	Ebbets Field
1956 Opening Day	Dwight Eisenhower	Griffith Stadium
1958 Opening Day	Dwight Eisenhower	Griffith Stadium
1959 Opening Day	Richard Nixon	Griffith Stadium	Nixon was vice president at the time; he was elected president in 1968.
1960 Opening Day	Dwight Eisenhower	Griffith Stadium
1961 Opening Day	John F. Kennedy	Griffith Stadium
1962 Opening Day	John F. Kennedy	D.C. Stadium	First ball in new stadium
1963 Opening Day	John F. Kennedy	D.C. Stadium
1964 Opening Day	Lyndon Johnson	D.C. Stadium
1965 Opening Day	Lyndon Johnson	D.C. Stadium
1967 Opening Day	Lyndon Johnson	D.C. Stadium
1969 Opening Day	Richard Nixon	RFK Stadium
1970 All-Star Game	Richard Nixon	Riverfront Stadium	All-Star Game in Cincinnati, Ohio
1973 Opening Day	Richard Nixon	Anaheim Stadium	First Opening Day held outside of Washington, D.C.
1976 Opening Day	Gerald Ford	Arlington Stadium
1976 All-Star Game	Gerald Ford	Veterans Stadium	American League vs. National League
1979 World Series	Jimmy Carter	Memorial Stadium
1984 Opening Day	Ronald Reagan	Memorial Stadium	Reagan made an unannounced trip to Baltimore, after it was initially cancelled for security reasons. He watched the game from the third-base dugout.[6]
1986 Opening Day	Ronald Reagan	Memorial Stadium
1988 Regular Season	Ronald Reagan	Wrigley Field	Reagan threw two pitches prior to the Chicago Cubs–Pittsburgh Pirates game on September 30, then joined Harry Caray for 1½ innings on the WGN telecast.[3]
1989 Opening Day	George H. W. Bush	Memorial Stadium	President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak was Bush's special guest, but did not partake in the pregame ceremonies. The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox 5–4 in 11 innings.[7]
1989 Japan Series	Ronald Reagan	Tokyo Dome	Game 3 between the Kintetsu Buffaloes and Yomiuri Giants
1990 Opening Day	George H. W. Bush	SkyDome	First Opening Day pitch to be thrown in Canada.
1991 Opening Day	George H. W. Bush	Arlington Stadium	1991 Opening Day Ronald Reagan Dodger Stadium
1992 Opening Day	George H. W. Bush	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	First MLB game at Camden Yards.
1993 Opening Day	Bill Clinton	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	Before this, most presidents threw from the stands or at the base of the pitcher's mound; Clinton was the first president to successfully throw from the pitcher's mound to the catcher.
1994 Opening Day	Bill Clinton	Jacobs Field	First MLB Game at Jacobs Field.
1995 World Series	Jimmy Carter	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
1996 Opening Day	Bill Clinton	Oriole Park at Camden Yards
1997 Opening Day	Bill Clinton	Shea Stadium
2000 Opening Day	Bill Clinton	Pacific Bell Park
2001 Opening Day	George W. Bush	Miller Park	MLB Commissioner Bud Selig (a former owner of the Brewers) threw out the first pitch to celebrate the opening of the new park; Bush threw the second pitch.
2001 World Series	George W. Bush	Yankee Stadium	This was the first World Series game in New York since the September 11 attacks; Bush wore a bulletproof vest and a Secret Service agent dressed as an umpire so he could be on the field.
2003 Opening Day	George H.W. Bush	Great American Ball Park
2004 Opening Day	Jimmy Carter	Petco Park	First MLB Game at Petco Park
2004 Opening Day	George W. Bush	Busch Stadium
2005 Opening Day	George W. Bush	RFK Stadium	2005 was the Nationals' first season, making Bush the first president to throw out first pitch in Washington since Richard Nixon in 1969.
2006 Opening Day	George W. Bush	Great American Ball Park	First sitting President to participate on Opening Day in Cincinnati; preceded Reds–Cubs game on April 3.[3]
2008 Opening Day	George W. Bush	Nationals Park	This was the first pitch in new stadium. Bush also participated in ESPN's TV broadcast of the game and called the ballpark's first home run, hit by the Braves' Chipper Jones in the 4th inning.
2009 Opening Day	Joe Biden	Nationals Park
2009 Opening Day	George W. Bush	Rangers Ballpark in Arlington	Bush had owned the Rangers in the early 1990s.
2009 All-Star Game	Barack Obama	Busch Stadium
2009 Japan Series	George W. Bush	Tokyo Dome	Game 3 between the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants.
2010 Opening Day	Barack Obama	Nationals Park	100th anniversary of the first Presidential Opening Day ceremonial first pitch
2010 World Series	George W. Bush	Rangers Ballpark in Arlington	Former President Bush was accompanied to the mound by his father, George H.W. Bush, and Texas Rangers team president Nolan Ryan.
2011 College World Series	George W. Bush	TD Ameritrade Park Omaha	This pitch marked the first game at the new home of the College World Series, replacing the nearby Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Before Bush threw out the first pitch, his father, who played for Yale in the first CWS in 1947, delivered a video message christening the new stadium. He is the first President to have thrown ceremonial first pitches for amateur and professional (both North America and Japanese) championship matches.[8]
2015 American League Division Series	George H. W. Bush	Minute Maid Park	Former President Bush, aged 91, accompanied by his wife Barbara and in a wheelchair with a neck brace, threw the Houston Astros' first pitch at Game 3 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals.[9]

References

1. http://baseballetcetera.blogspot.com/
2. Duggan, Paul (April 2, 2007). "Balking at the First Pitch". Washington Post. p. A01.
3. Wallner, Jeff. "President Bush tosses Opening pitch", MLB.com, Monday, April 3, 2006
4. President Woodrow Wilson Baseball Game Attendance Log Baseball Almanac
6. Putzel, Michael (April 3, 1984). "Reagan Makes A Surprise Visit". Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
7. Dowd, Maureen, "Bush Takes Mubarak Out to the Ball Game" The New York Times, Tuesday, April 4, 1989
8. "Vanderbilt opens College World Series, new stadium with win". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 18, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
9. "Pres. George H.W. Bush, 91, throws out first pitch at Royals-Astros game (+video)". Kansas.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.

• "U.S. Presidents & Major League Baseball". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-03-30.