With Joe Biden projected to become the 46th president of the United States of America, the Washington Nationals tweeted their invitation to the President-Elect to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day 2021.
“We look forward to hosting President-Elect Biden on Opening Day of the 2021 season,” The Nationals wrote in the graphic tweet. “We’re excited to continue the long-standing tradition of sitting Presidents throwing out the first pitch at home of the national pastime in our nation’s capital.”
The Nationals’ invitation came just minutes after President-Elect Biden delivered his victory speech from Delaware Saturday night.
The Nationals didn’t send out a similar tweet to current President Donald Trump in 2016 following his nomination. President Trump did not throw out a first pitch in any of the Nationals’ Opening Day games during his four-year term.
The tradition of presidents throwing out the first pitch in Washington, DC dates back to 1910 with President William Taft in the Washington Senators days. The tradition halted after 1969 as the second edition of the Senators moved to Dallas to become the Texas Rangers in 1971.
When baseball returned to DC in 2005 with the Nationals, President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at RFK Stadium. He threw out the first pitch again when Nationals Park opened in 2008. President Barack Obama joined in the tradition in 2010.
Trump is the only sitting president not to throw out a first pitch while an MLB team was in Washington.
The Nationals are scheduled to host the New York Mets on Opening Day, April 1, 2021. Hopefully, President-Elect Biden will be there as a guest.
