Donald Trump Will Not Throw out the First Pitch of the 2017 Nationals Season
Donald Trump has done a lot in his life. Add “Most Controversial Ceremonial First Pitch To Never Be Thrown” to his resume.
Donald Trump will not be throwing out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals on Opening Day. This is not for a lack of trying on the part of the Nationals, as they continued the 100-plus year tradition of inviting the president of the United States to throw out the first pitch. In fact, President Trump threw out a ceremonial first pitch in Boston in 2006, so it’s not like this is anything new for him.
Yet, the invitation has drawn skepticism as the country has become more politically divided, and many people have been quick to point out that 95.9 percent of DC residents voted for someone else in the general election. It doesn’t take a detailed analysis of that number to figure out Trump is extremely unpopular in the nations capital.
The Nationals were simply carrying out a tradition of having the president throw out a first pitch, and past leaders have been doing it since the Senators in 1910. They resumed the tradition when the Nats arrived to DC in 2005. For all the complaining of fans who didn’t want Trump on the mound at Nationals Park, the Nationals did the right thing.
While the nation might be gripped in an intense political divide which is seeping into sports, sports are not a partisan issue. Baseball is not a partisan issue, and the Washington Nationals are not a partisan issue. In that same way, sports do not take sides in elections, baseball is not Democratic or Republican, and the Nationals should not take sides in deciding who throws out the first pitch just because many of their fans are on the other side of the political aisle.
Could the Nationals not have even offered? Of course, there is no rule, there is no one making the Nationals let President Trump throw out the first pitch. Still, politics seem to be invading the diamond, and even sports in general. From Jake Arrieta to Tom Brady, many athletes have come out in support of Trump to the anger of their fans. That doesn’t mean teams that represent not just the owners but an entire fan base of people should take sides.
Many Nationals fans have rejoiced in light of the White House’s “scheduling conflict” that is preventing the president from attending. Heck, as a Nationals fan I was relieved I would not have to see him occupying the same space where Stephen Strasburg will be standing a few minutes later. But the Nationals need to represent all of their fans. Sure, many are happy, but there are plenty of Nationals fans who wanted to see the president on the mound.
Take for example the fan who sits behind home plate at almost every home game wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. Why should the club deny him the opportunity to see Trump on the mound, just because most people don’t like the president? The Nationals needed to acknowledge their fan base has a variety of people with differing political views. by extending the offer to Trump, they did not take sides at a time where politics seem to be invading the sport.
What about Pride Nights? Is an organization pushing a liberal agenda to the dismay of some fans? Some people may think this way, that organizations are getting too involved in push agendas, but the difference on Pride Nights and other such events, the organizations are letting the event happen, not preventing it. With Trump, had they not extended their offer to take the mound, they would have been prohibiting, not merely letting it happen, and would have taken a stance outside the realm of the sport.
Just because they extended the offer doesn’t mean President Trump would have accepted it. In fact, it might be a good thing he had a “scheduling conflict.” If he had accepted, he likely would have been met with boos and jeers. After all, almost 96 percent of DC residents did not vote for the man, and many in the area still don’t approve of him. Yet for the Nationals to deny Trump the opportunity to throw out the first pitch would have been overstepping their role as a baseball team.
By extending their invitation to the president, they put politics aside and focused on a proud American and baseball tradition dating back to Howard Taft. The Nationals made the right choice. That being said, Donald Trump also made the right choice in not attending, even if it was indeed a scheduling conflict that made it impossible. After his Strasburg tweets and overall unpopularity, the scene at Nationals Park would not have been pretty.
While we won’t be seeing the president throw out the first pitch on Opening Day, he might just do it later this year or at another point in his term. Lets just hope next time it looks better than the last time he threw a ceremonial pitch.
