Barack Obama First Pitch | Midwest Sports Fans

The Anchor’s Desk: Random Thoughts After Watching the All-Star Game and President Barack Obama’s First Pitch

The Prez delivers (barely),
The Host Does Not,
And a Team To Watch in the Second Half.

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After a loooong pre-game show which at times was boring to everyone not from St. Louis, we were all ready to play some ball. However, there were some fun moments I made mental notes of while waiting out the 45-minute pre-game.

– I liked watching the player intros from the reserves that are truly happy to be there and might never be back. Not Jeter or Pujols, who get to do this every year, but guys who are just cracking into the limelight. My old buddy Zack Duke of Pittsburgh didnâ€™t even get to play Tuesday night, so taking off his hat and smiling was his only big moment. Go Waco Midway Panthers! Although I must say Duke and the other reserves gotta feel like second-class citizens after getting introduced completely separate from the starters.

– Iâ€™ll always like looking at Sheryl Crow, who still looks hot despite being 47. Oh and she sings too.

– The wide stadium shots showed off the cool Arch and Courthouse design in the outfield grass. And there was some weird new MLB marketing things on banners I didnâ€™t really pay attention to.

– And thereâ€™s the First Fan, President Barack Obama, who just gets cooler and cooler, even when heâ€™s dorky. Before the game, he was shown joking around with Pujols and Prince Fielder. â€œHey Albert what happened with the derby?â€ he teased. â€œIn your home park, huh?â€

Even though heâ€™s the President, itâ€™s awesome that he has the stones to tease the hulking Pujols and do it in a way that makes Pujols like him even more. In fact, Pujols bailed out Obama once it was time for the first pitch. Obama had said he was trying not to bounce it, and thatâ€™s exactly what would have happened if Pujols had not reached way in and scooped it up centimeters before it hit the dirt. (Hereâ€™s why you didnâ€™t see the pitch live.)

Obamaâ€™s take on how he did: “I did not play organized baseball when I was a kid and so, you know, I think some of these natural moves aren’t so natural to me,” he said.

Here is the video of President Obama throwing out the first pitch at last night’s All Star game in St. Louis:

– Now to Pujolsâ€¦.After checking out in Round Two of the Derby on Monday, the King Cardinal looked to do a bit more in the â€œrealâ€ game. And once Obama left the stage, it was Pujolsâ€™ for the taking. I guess he didnâ€™t get the memo.

His fielding error in the first inning allowed the A.L. to score a run. He made some nice plays in the field after that, but he did go 0-3 and his team did lose by that one run. He said he wasnâ€™t affected by all the attention he was receiving

“I won’t use the word ‘stress,’” Pujols said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I wish it could be like this for the rest of my career. I enjoy it. I was so happy for (Ryan Franklin) and Yadi (Molina). And having it here, in our city, I knew our fans were going to receive us with open arms.”

Pujols is still the man, donâ€™t get me wrong. He’s the best hitter in baseball and his career All-Star numbers are still great: 6 for 17 (.353) with three RBIs in eight All-Star Games (seven appearances and six starts).

Still, the experience of serving as centerpiece for the two-day festival left a lasting impression on the two-time NL MVP, who received the loudest and longest applause during pre-game introductions.

“It was almost getting to the point where I got a little bit emotional yesterday and today the way the fans received me, Franklin and Yadi,” Pujols said. “It was pretty special.”

It would have been even more special had he done more to help the NL win its first ASG in 13 tries! So home field advantage in the World Series will be with the AL once again. So as we start the second half, which team will represent the Junior Circuit in October? New York? Boston? How about Seattle?

Zuh?

Okay, the Mâ€™s wonâ€™t win it all, but they may be in the postseason conversation, which is amazing.

The Ms are being called this year’s Rays. After a 100 loss-season, new skipper Don Wakamatsu has them 4 games over .500, just 4 games behind the Angels in a weak AL West division. They have gotten good pitching surprises from closer David Aardsma (22 saves) and starter Jarrod Washburn (2.96 ERA). Eric Bedard has been good and is finally healthy. Russ Branyan (who?) is having a bounce-back year and should have been an All-Star with his 22 HRs, 49 RBI, and .280 BA.

The Mâ€™s that were All-Stars are Wakamatsu, who was in St. Louis as a bench coach, pitcher â€œKingâ€ Felix Hernandez, and 9-time All-Star Ichiro in the outfield. Ichiro went 1-3, Hernandez pitched a perfect sixth inning, and Wakamatsuâ€™s team won.

Not a bad night, even if it belonged to a guy on the losing team.

* – Barack Obama / Albert Pujols photo credit: Chris Lee / St. Louis Post-Dispatch

* – Don Wakamatsu photo credit: AP via SeattlePI.com

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Scott Reister is a featured contributor to Midwest Sports Fans, as well as Dallas Sports Fans.

He is a Sports Anchor for the NBC affiliate in the Tri-Cities and Spokane, WA. To learn more about Scott, visit the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Local Sports page on KNDU.com.

To contact Scott: sreister@hotmail.com

LOTD: Obama’s First Pitch Tonight a Reminder of the Greatest Presidential First Pitch in History — George Bush’s at the 2001 World Series

Tonight, President Barack Obama will be throwing out the first pitch at the 2009 MLB All Star Game. Â Last night, ESPN ran an entertaining package in which this year’s All Stars provided tips and pointers for President Obama, with the consensus being the most obvious point of all: don’t bounce it (like this guy did).

It made me think about just how much pressure is on people of President Obama’s stature when they step onto the mound to throw the first pitch. Â I know, I know…what he deals with in the White House and as The Most Powerful Man in the World is far more important and pressure-packed over the long haul. Â Still, this ‘aint reading off a teleprompter. Â This is a physical action, one that is relatively difficult, which is being done in front of millions. Â And as the President, you have an image of greatness to uphold.

Bouncing a ceremonial pitch certainly does not project an image of greatness.

I expect President Obama to do well tonight, mainly because this isn’t his first rodeo (as “we” say down here in Texas). Obama threw out a first pitch during the 2005 playoffs, and seems to have the right mindset about the whole process:

Obama is no stranger to the pitching mound. Â In 2005, his first year as a senator from Illinois, Obama threw out a first pitch at a White Sox playoff. Â The devout Sox fan admitted afterwards that he was feeling the pressure.

“Had I thrown a one-hop, I think, whatever aspirations I had, they would have shown that clip over and over again,” he said in an interview with the Springfield State Journal-Register that year.

“I was more nervous than I was before the Democratic National Convention” the year before, he said.

So he understands the importance of not bouncing the ball, which is his first step to success. Â Now he just needs to warm himself up properly and do his best Mark Buehrle impression and exhibit pinpoint control. Â (Actually, he doesn’t even need to be pinpoint…just somewhere in the area of Albert Pujols’ mit. He could settle for John Danks’ control.)

Update: Well, he didn’t bounce it…but he came close. It was a nice save by Albert Pujols. Follow the link to watch the video of Barack Obama throwing out the first pitch at the 2009 MLB All Star Game.

But any president throwing out a first pitch will always, for me, harken back to the greatest single presidential first pitch of all time. Â And I’d imagine that nearly everyone reading this knows exactly which first pitch I’m talking about, even if the headline and pitcture didn’t give it away at a glance.

Back in 2001, not long after the horrors of 9/11, George Bush threw a perfect strike in Yankee Stadium before Gam3 of the World Series. Â This was, almost undoubtedly, one of the high points of his 8-year term in office. Â

I’m not trying to get political here, just stating facts: as a nation, we all were behind President Bush then, and his steely resolve in the face of the terrorist attacks inspired a nation. His ability to throw a perfect strike before Game 3, with the world watching and with admitted nerves, was a symbol of his ability to be a steadying and rallying force in the months after 9/11.

What happened in the ensuing years is for everyone to have their own opinions on, but what happened that night proved that George Bush was capable of Rivera-like clutchness at a time when our nation needed it, even if only symbolically. Â And it’s fitting that such a moment would come for Bush on the baseball field. Â He used his tenure with the Texas Rangers to propel himself into the Texas Governer’s mansion, and we have never had a more unabashed baseball fanatic in the White House. Â

So forget politics for a moment and just watch the video below. Â It’s a great behind-the-scenes look at the build-up to Bush’s first pitch at the 2001 World Series, and the strike he fired with the lights shining bright. Â

Now hopefully President Obama can do White Sox fans and America proud tonight by piping one similarly…right down the middle.

And now some other links from around the web to carry you through the rest of this beautiful Tuesday afternoon. Then it’s back to work for me, then to the airport to pick up KVB, who will be spending a week down here in Dallas. Â Get ready for a podcast…

Who Will Shoot the Three? — (by The Zoner at Pippen Ain’t Easy)

Senator Hatch Wants BCS Investigated — (The World According to MoonDog)

15 Horrible Places to Be High — (Hail Mary Jane)

Top Ten Reasons Tony Romo Split from Jessica Simpson — (Gunaxin)

Tribute to Cinema’s Best Slugging — (Screen Junkies)

MLB All Star Game: Making Memories — (Josh Q. Public)

Browns, Maiava Agree to Deal — (Orange & Brown Report)

Former UT Kicker James Wilhoit is now Coach Wilhoit — (SEC Rivals)

A.I.: Memphis or Miami? — (My Sports Rumors)

How moods trigger the panties your GF wears — (Regretful Morning)

The Future for Ric Bucher — (Zoner Sports)

Really Interesting Bob Gibson Take — (Sharapova’s Thigh)