Joe Biden is invited to throw out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals on opening day in 2021, the Nats announced as the president-elect delivered his victory speech.
Biden is invited to kick off the season, the team announced in a tweet.
“We’re excited to continue the long-standing tradition of sitting Presidents throwing out the first pitch at the home of the national pastime in our nation’s capital,” they said.
The Nats’ home opener is scheduled for April 1.
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Biden, a Little League shortstop who later played center, has frequently been around ballfields. He saw the Phillies a few times in the postseason, including the 2009 World Series, watched Philadelphia play at Washington in 2012, has visited the Yankees at spring training and attended the Little League World Series.
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William Howard Taft began the tradition of presidents throwing out the first pitch in Washington in 1910. Since then, every sitting president except Donald Trump has thrown out a first pitch when Washington had a major league franchise.
Trump attended Game 5 of the 2019 World Series at Nationals Park and was booed when introduced as Houston played Washington.
When there wasn't a team in Washington, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton tossed baseballs at other big league parks while in office.
Trump was scheduled to throw out the first pitch for the Yankees this summer but canceled, citing the coronavirus. Two days earlier, top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the Nats first pitch and was mocked for missing the mark.
"It went in the wrong direction," he said. "I joked around after that I used to be a short stop when I played ball as a young boy, and I thought I was supposed to throw to first base."
Dr. Anthony Fauci Throws Out First Pitch on Nationals' Opening Day
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
