Some clarification and a few other things...
I tried to answer a question in my Ask box asking for clarification on the post about Bill Clinton being the first president to successfully throw the ceremonial first pitch from the pitcher’s mound, but apparently technology is too hard for me, and now the message is gone. Anyway, here is my response:
Well, I’m glad you asked. First, let’s look at the Clinton post, then we’ll look at some historically “significant” facts about ceremonial first pitches.
The key words in The Clinton post are “successful pitch from the mound”. Until relatively recently, ceremonial first pitches (CFPs) were made from the first row of the stands to the catcher standing behind home plate.
Once presidents began throwing CFPs from the field, the pitches were usually made from the mound to the catcher standing in front of home plate or from in front of the mound. The reason for this, of course, is that it’s not easy for someone who isn’t accustomed to making that throw to get the ball where it needs to go. If an adjustment isn’t made, you’ll frequently see the Commander in Chief bounce the ball in front of the plate or throw a wild pitch, making him look a bit silly. Ball clubs don’t typically want the president who’s throwing the CFP to look silly, so the catcher will almost always make whatever adjustment the president is comfortable with.
Now I’ve never seen a presidential CFP in person, but I’ve seen many, many first pitches involving “special guests” and local “dignitaries”. In those circumstances, I’ve always seen a pre-game conference just off the field with the “pitcher”, catcher, marketing personnel and whatever handlers might be there to remind the “pitcher” that it’s better to shorten the throw than to look silly bouncing the pitch.
So, that’s the long way round to get to the point: Saying President Clinton made the first “successful ceremonial first pitch from the mound” simply means he pitched the ball from the mound and got it to the catcher behind home plate without bouncing it or throwing it away.
Whew! That certainly was a lot of words. For those of you still reading this, let’s look at a few CFP fun facts:
1. William Howard Taft became the first president to throw out the CFP on April 14, 1910. Taft attended his first professional game in 1909. Due to baseball’s seedy reputation, the only other sitting president to attend a game prior to that was Benjamin Harrison in 1892. But I digress.
Taft was — and still remains — the largest president in U.S. history. During his time in office, Taft was criticized and ridiculed for his physical condition. He needed to be seen taking part in an activity that implied physical abilities, but required little actual effort. Given his enjoyment of that game in 1909, baseball seemed the perfect fit. So, President Taft began the tradition of the ceremonial first pitch with a toss to Walter Johnson. For more fun facts about President Taft, search “William Howard Taft two man gentlemen band” on YouTube. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
2. Every sitting president since Taft has throw out the CFP at least once during his term except Jimmy Carter. Carter did throw out the first pitch during the 1979 World Series and again Opening Day in San Diego in 2004, but he was no longer in office.
3. Warren G. Harding never missed an opening game during his term.
4. Herbert Hoover threw out a total of six CFPs, four of them on Opening Day. Hoover was often booed at games, but that apparently had more to do with his policies than his physical abilities.
5. Franklin D. Roosevelt holds the record for most Opening Day CFPs with eight.
6. Harry Truman, who was ambidextrous, was the first president to throw out the CFP with each hand.
7. John F. Kennedy was the last president to throw out an Opening Day CFP at Griffith Stadium and the first to throw out an Opening Day CFP at D.C. stadium.
8. Richard Nixon threw three Opening Day CFPs: one a Vice President when President Eisenhower could not attend in 1959, and again as President in 1969 and 1973.
9. Ronald Reagan was the first president (to my knowledge anyway) to throw a CFP from the field rather than the stands.
10. And, of course, there was Bill Clinton, as mentioned earlier.
