Anthony Fauci chosen to throw out first pitch of the MLB season
The defending World Series champion Washington Nationals have picked one of its avid fans — “a true champion” — to throw out the first pitch of the Major League Baseball season.
The Nationals announced Monday afternoon Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch during their Opening Day game Thursday night against the New York Yankees.
The game is the first of the MLB season, which will be abbreviated to 60 games for each team due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fauci has been one of the faces of the pandemic in the United States, appearing on Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force before becoming a celebrity in his own right.
“Dr. Fauci has been a true champion for our country during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout his distinguished career, so it is only fitting that we honor him as we kick off the 2020 season and defend our World Series Championship title,” the Nationals tweeted.
When he testified before a House Committee in June, Fauci was shown wearing a Nationals face mask. He has previously said he is a fan of the team despite growing up as a Yankees fan in Brooklyn, according to the Washington Post.
In April he showed his excitement about the eventual return of baseball, according to NBC Sports.
“I think you’ll probably get enough buy-in from people who are dying to see a baseball game, particularly me,” Fauci said. “I’m living in Washington, we have the world champion Washington Nationals. I want to see them play again.”
Fauci said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times last month he felt the MLB should avoid playing into the fall.
“If the question is time, I would try to keep it in the core summer months and end it not with the way we play the World Series, until the end of October when it’s cold. I would avoid that,” Fauci told the Times. “The likelihood is that, if you stick to the core summer months, you are better off, even though there is no guarantee.”
The Nationals-Yankees game will air at 7:15 p.m. ET Thursday on ESPN.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Anthony Fauci chosen to throw out first pitch of the MLB season."