Obama Tosses First Pitch at Nats Park

Obama dons Nats jacket, ChiSox hat

President Barack Obama may be feeling much more like a Washingtonian these days, but there's no way he's forgetting his Chicago roots.

Case in point: Monday afternoon at Nationals Park. Obama walked out onto the field (to a good mix of boos and applause) wearing a Washington Nationals jacket. But after shaking hands and working his way out to the mound, he pulled out his trusty Chicago White Sox cap and placed it firmly on his head, drawing jeers from the crowd. Obama laughed it off and waved.

He then kicked off the Nationals' season by throwing a perfect strike to home. Well, at least that's how it will go down in presidential folklore.

In reality, the prez lollipopped his pitch high and waaay outside, forcing Ryan Zimmerman to jump up out of his crouch to stab it out of the air and avoid having it roll to the backstop.

"I was a little disappointed with the pitch," Obama told the Nationals' TV broadcast team of Bob Carpenter and Rob Dibble. "Fortunately, Zimmerman is tall and had enough reach."

At least the president wasn't wearing "mom jeans."  Obama showed up this time in khakis, avoiding another national fashion disaster.

Obama, a lefthander, had been loosening up for the important, ceremonial first pitch.

"You're down there practicing, throwing strikes, heat," Obama told the TV crew. "You come out here and the thing slips out of your hand a little bit."

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama hurled pitches at personal assistant Reggie Love and White House trip director Marvin Nicholson, as he prepared with workouts in the White House Rose Garden.

Obama threw out the first pitch at last year's All-Star game in St. Louis, wearing a White Sox jacket, a nod to his hometown Chicago team.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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