George W. Bush Will Throw Out First Pitch At World Series In What Can Only Be — At Best — His Second-Best First Pitch Ever
The Texas Rangers are going presidential with the first pitch for Friday night's Game 1 of the World Series with George W. Bush being tapped to handle the honor.
That's a hell of a choice considering the man knows how to throw out a first pitch.
Even after Bush throws his first pitch on Friday, the Rangers will still have some big guns on hand for Game 2 when Adrian Beltre and Fergie Jenkins serve as the ceremonial first pitch battery.
Bush throwing out the first pitch makes a ton of sense. He still calls Texas home and was once part of the Rangers ownership group in the 1990s.
Bush is 77 years old, but I still expect him to throw a halfway decent first pitch. He may not fire one in there like John Daly, but I expect a little more heat and accuracy than Megan Rapinoe brought to Seattle.
Nothing Will Top Bush's First Pitch At Game 3 Of The 2001 World Series
Bush 43 isn't new to first pitches and has done many over the years. However, none will ever compare to the magic of his first pitch at Game 3 of the 2001 World Series between the Yankees and (coincidentally) Diamondbacks just weeks after 9/11.
Bush standing on the mound with a bulletproof vest on under his FDNY jacket and throwing a perfect strike is easily one of the most emotional and powerful moments in American sports history.
That moment was powerful enough to become not just an iconic moment in sports history, but one of the defining ones of Bush's entire presidency.
Friday night won't have the emotions or gravitas as Bush's more notable first pitch 22 years ago. Nonetheless, it shows that the Rangers are pulling out all the stops with the team back in the World Series for the first time in over a decade.
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