Peanuts & Cracker Jack #8

I have a fascination with politicians—specifically presidents—performing PR stunts. Pardoning the turkey, posing with the Easter Bunny, rolling up sleeves when in a mile radius of a plumber. We love our silly little war criminals staging silly little stunts for the silly little media, don’t we folks?

So with today maybe being Opening Day (?) I want to share photos of a presidential PR personal favorite–first pitches!

The tradition started on Opening Day 1910, when notorious baseball fan William Howard Taft threw out the first pitch before the Washington Senators home opener. Since then, every president with the exception of Jimmy Carter, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden (I wonder why) has thrown an Opening Day first pitch while in office. FDR is the league leader with eight, although I think we need an asterisk for his extra terms.

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do, including the Obama dad jeans bonus, which, technically speaking, was an All-Star Game first pitch.

Oh, and here are my season predictions, for posterity sake.

AL East

1. Toronto Blue Jays

2. Baltimore Orioles

3. New York Yankees

4. Tampa Bay Rays

5. Boston Red Sox

AL Central

1. Cleveland Guardians

2. Minnesota Twins

3. Detroit Tigers

4. Kansas City Royals

5. Chicago White Sox

AL West

1. Houston Astros

2. Seattle Mariners

3. Texas Rangers

4. Los Angeles Angels

5. Oakland Athletics

NL East

1. Atlanta [Censored]

2. Philadelphia Phillies

3. New York Mets

4. Miami Marlins

5. Washington Nationals

NL Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals

2. Chicago Cubs

3. Cincinnati Reds

4. Milwaukee Brewers

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2. San Diego Padres

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

4. San Francisco Giants

5. Colorado Rockies

AL Wild Card Round

• New York Yankees (6) over Cleveland Guardians (3)

• Baltimore Orioles (4) over Seattle Mariners (5)

NL Wild Card Round

• Chicago Cubs (6) over St. Louis Cardinals (3)

• Philadelphia Phillies (5) over San Diego Padres (4)

ALDS

• Houston Astros (1) over Baltimore Orioles (4)

• Toronto Blue Jays (2) over New York Yankees (6)

NLDS

• Los Angeles Dodgers (1) over Philadelphia Phillies (5)

• Atlanta [Censored] (2) over Chicago Cubs (6)

ALCS

• Houston Astros (1) over Toronto Blue Jays (2)

NLCS

• Los Angeles Dodgers (1) over Atlanta [Censored] (2)

World Series

• Los Angeles Dodgers (1) over Houston Astros (1)

AL MVP- Julio Rodriguez

NL MVP- Corbin Carroll

AL Cy Young- Corbin Burnes

NL Cy Young- Spencer Strider