Nationals invite Biden to throw out first pitch on opening day

The Washington Nationals have invited president-elect Joe Biden to throw out the first pitch before the team’s opening day game to begin the 2021 season. 

“We’re excited to continue the long-standing tradition of sitting Presidents throwing out the first pitch at the home of the national pastime in our nation’s capital,” the Washington, D.C.-based club said in a social media post over the weekend. The post was accompanied by a photo of Biden and his wife Jill at Nationals Park during his time as Vice President. 

We look forward to hosting President-Elect Biden on Opening Day of the 2021 season.@JoeBiden // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/n3YzL7olWA

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) November 8, 2020

Biden thew out the first pitch at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Major League Baseball’s Opening Day in 2009, ESPN reported, just months after he and former president Barack Obama had been elected to the White House. Every sitting U.S. president, with the exception of Donald Trump, has thrown out a pitch in D.C. when the district had a major league ball club. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House Task Force fighting coronavirus, threw out the first pitch on opening day of the shortened 2020 season. 

Opening Day at Nationals Park is March 26, 2021.