Spring training has ended and new dreams for a World Series ring have been officially hatched throughout Major League Baseball. The season opener between the rival New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox played out yesterday evening.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Presidential First Pitch and United States President Barack Obama will have the honor of tossing this ceremonial first pitch to newly acquired catcher Ivan Rodriguez of the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. where the "Nats" will face the National League Defending Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies. In reality, this will not be a presidential first catch for Pudge, however, but rather his third, since he caught opening day pitches from former President George W. Bush when he was owner of the Texas Rangers where Rodriguez formerly played. Today, starting pitcher, John Lannan, number one in the starting rotation of the Washington Nationals will duel with Roy Halladay, new, off-season acquisition from the Toronto Blue Jays and number one starter for the Philadelphia Phillies.
President Obama has clearly stated that he is a partisan, Chicago White Sox fan and his thrown out pitches in their home park, U.S. Cellular Field, located on the South side of Chicago, in his home state of Illinois in the past, but last summer, when he was seemingly slated to succumb to non-partisanship and throw out the first pitch in July 2009 at the All Star Game in St. Louis, Missouri, loyalty tugged at his heart and he wore a White Sox jacket. In the All Star game, fans vote online, then teammates, to choose 3 players to represent their club in a game between the National League All Star players and the American League All Star players each July. The winner gains home field advantage in the World Series. So, all thirty Major League Baseball teams are represented at this summer game. However, today with only the Phillies and Nationals, what will Obama don? Since the game is in the Nationals' house, if I were Jim Riggleman, manager of the Nationals, I'd make the front office cough up some gear ahead of time to stack the deck.
President Obama follows in the footsteps of President William Howard Taft, who 100 years ago in 1910, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. for the opening game where the Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics 3-0. It is the 42nd time that a president has thrown out a pitch at the local Washington D.C. stadium to open the baseball season. While the Nationals are hoping to imitate the complete game shut out from a century ago of starting pitcher, Walter Johnson, the Philadelphia Phillies will be there to take a century's worth of revenge! Every American president since Taft, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, has thrown out a first pitch at Opening Day, the All Star Game, or the World Series.
When I asked the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays and 2008 manager of the year, Joe Maddon, at a Spring Training game recently what he was looking forward to in the first pitch of the season, he responded, "A well-located, nice strike." If that's the case, then Rays number one starter, James Shields, who will be celebrating his third consecutive opening start for the Rays, will be serving that up in a contest against the Baltimore Orioles and their starting pitcher at the Trop in St. Pete, Florida tomorrow night.
Kevin Millwood, is the number one man acquired from the Texas Rangers in the off-season to lead the pitching staff of the Baltimore Orioles this year. I asked Kevin at the Orioles Spring Training Facility in Sarasota, FL what he thought of the 100th Presidential pitch and leading the Orioles squad this year. He replied, "After a mostly terribly cold Florida Spring Training this year, the weather has warmed up and and so has the team. It's an honor to be the Opening Day starter." In fact, while this is Millwood's first start on Opening Day for the Orioles, it's by no means a one-time deal for Millwood, but actually his 7th opening day start in Major League Baseball, because he started for other teams including, the Phillies and Rangers. Millwood humbly stated, "I was brought over from the Rangers to be an example as a veteran pitcher to this Orioles' club, to mentor the young guys as they make their transition from AAA to the Big Leagues, just as I was raised up by veteran pitchers Greg Maddox, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine." Millwood continued,”I will be mixing up all of my repertoire including my fastball, curve, slider, and change-up to keep opponents off balance, but most importantly, to throw strikes!"
When asked about what he's looking forward to in a first pitch before Saturday's final spring training contest of the year for the Baltimore Orioles where they faced the New York Mets at their spring training facility in Sarasota, FL, Right handed pitcher, Brad Bergesen, of the Baltimore Orioles said, "I'm just ready to get out there and throw my stuff, for the anxieties of what the season will bring to convert into the energy of just playing ball." Left-handed pitcher and Saturday's starter, Brian Matusz, echoed his teammate's sentiments, "I'm ready to throw strikes, play baseball, and just get the season going."
Every Spring, each year, every club and each player, manager, coach, team owner, fan, minor leaguer, and front office personnel member brings their own set of goals and dreams as they step foot on the field at the Big League stadiums for the first time this year this week. We have from now until the Fall to see which ones come true. But for Jacque Jones, outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, this year is about resuming a dream. He took a year off from baseball and is trying to make his comeback. He's currently starting the season locked in a AAA contract with the Twins at age 34. He looks like he stands a good chance at being called up, as he doesn't appear to have missed a beat with his training. He recently told me in his focused, relaxed demeanor at the Twins Spring Training facility in Ft. Myers, FL, "I'm looking forward to just being back in the groove of the game again in the Big Leagues, just playing baseball, it's what I love to do." Catcher Joe Mauer will be there to receive anything the Twins pitching staff throws out now that Minnesota has locked him in for years to come.
Only 162 games to go as the race to the post-season begins. Baseball fans, get ready to don your gear, eat hot dogs, warm up your arms, legs, gloves, pitches, and bats- it's the Big League Opener of the 2010 season for Major League Baseball!
Kimberly Wilcox is currently freelance writing about financial politics, as well as Healthcare policy, specifically, Chemical Injury and its medical & lifestyle consequences. She is a lifestyle coach to others with chemical injury, chronic fatigue, autism, Gulf War Syndrome & Fibromyalgia, as well as to professional athletes desiring peak performance without use of illegal PED's. She is an expert on Green Living and her new book will soon be published about the Green Life that she has been forced to live for the last decade.
