President To Toss Opening Heat at All-Star Game

After turning down multiple invitations to throw the iconic first pitch at a Major League Baseball game, President Obama has accepted the honor to toss the opening heat at the All-Star game July 14, according to MLB and MLB Network.

The game has been dedicated to community service, an initiative that parallels Obama’s “United We Serve” program.

According to MLB, Obama is only the fourth U.S. president to throw the opening pitch at the Midsummer Classic.

Baseball reigns as America’s pastime, but it was only 16 years ago that Bill Clinton threw the opening pitch from the pitcher’s mound to the catcher to become the first president to accomplish this feat.

Although presidents long before Clinton ceremoniously pitched the opener, it used to be that the pitch came from their seat in the stands.

A MLB Network interview recounting Clinton’s pitch at the Civil Rights Game aired Monday night.

As Clinton said in his interview with Harold Reynolds, baseball is “America’s story and America’s sport.”

Now, Obama will help continue to make America’s sport, America’s story. Obama mastered March Madness, correctly predicting the Tar Heels to take it all.

Then, he went "Two for the Money" when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic for the NBA title.

So in July, when Obama climbs the mound, many of us will look on to see if the southpaw can throw a strike.

But it begs the question, has the politics of the game taken us away from the game itself?