Starting on a High Note

Every president since Taft has thrown a first pitch at a baseball game while president, with three exceptions. Jimmy Carter did not throw a first pitch while president, but he did do so after his term. Neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden have thrown a first pitch during or after being president. However, there is still time for them to take part in this 100-year-old tradition.

The ball President William Howard Taft threw to Walter Johnson on April 14, 1910. He returned it to Johnson, writing “For Walter Johnson, with the hope that he may continue to be as formidable as in yesterday’s game.”

President Taft throwing a first pitch at another game

Walter Johnson, pitcher for the Washington Senators. His WAR of 13.2 in 1912 is the second best single-season total for any pitcher since 1900, second only to himself in 1913 (15.1 WAR). He was with the Senators for their only ever World Series victory.