EVERYONE HAS TIME FOR BOXSCORES:

President loves, follows baseball (Hal Bodley, 4/15/05, USA Today)

Outside, tulips were in full bloom. Workers were manicuring the lush green grass as a bright sun splashed the beautiful landscape.

Inside the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., spring was also in the air. President Bush was talking baseball. His blue eyes were bright, his mood was relaxed and he acted like he wished he could walk to the RFK Stadium mound and toss that first pitch to Nationals catcher Brian Schneider right away. That would come much later in his busy day.

"I'm honored to be throwing out the first pitch, continuing a tradition of presidents throwing out the first pitch for a Washington baseball team," the president said, sliding down in his chair to relax more. "It's really a great moment."

This was Thursday morning, the third time I've sat in this historic office to interview a president.
[...]

Q: Is throwing out the first pitch special?

A. It's an unusual experience. I've been in front of a lot of crowds as the president and governor (of Texas). Spoke in front of, I think, 200,000 people in Romania. There's nothing like going out and throwing the ball. It's a different feeling. First of all, the crowd is very pumped up; the relationship between the man behind the plate is really different than you think until you get out there. I remember Davey Lopes caught the ball in Milwaukee, and when I got out there, I said, "Where is Lopes?" He seemed so far away.

Q. Is the night you threw out the first pitch during the 2001 World Series at Yankees Stadium after 9/11 your most meaningful first pitch?

A. I would never say more meaningful because history has a way of challenging mankind. But it was a very dramatic moment. Made more so by Derek Jeter. He asked me if I wanted to loosen up. And I said I'd like to, so I went under the bowels of Yankee Stadium, a decrepit-looking undercarriage of this magnificent ballpark. An old veteran equipment guy showed up and said, "You want to play catch, Mr. President?" Then, Jeter said, "Are you going to throw the ball off the mound?" He said he'd throw it off the mound "if I were you." I said, I think I will. He said, "Don't bounce it because if you do, they'll boo." The crowd was chanting USA, and it was a very emotional, very alive experience. Something I'll never forget. [...]

Q. Have you followed the Nationals?

A. I start paying attention to the lineups during spring training, watch the pitching staff, know that Livan Hernandez is pitching tonight. I read the comments of Brian Schneider about catching the first pitch. I spend a fair amount of time on the box scores on a daily basis. That's one way to take your mind off the job, to delve into the moment.

Q. Do you watch a lot of games on TV?

A. Yes. I'm going to bed a little earlier these days because I'm up early, but I do watch. I have the dish. Chan Ho Park pitched a pretty good game (Wednesday) against the Angels. I follow the Rangers closely.

Q. What's the greatest game you've seen?

A. The Texas heat, Nolan Ryan (Texas Rangers) vs. Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox). Rafael Palmeiro hits a homer; Jeff Russell closes.

(The game was April 30, 1989. The Rangers won 2-1 on Palmeiro's two-run homer in the eighth inning. Clemens pitched eight innings, allowing six hits and striking out six. Ryan, the winner, pitched eight innings, allowing three hits and striking out 11.)

They faced each the same week at Fenway. A buddy and I went down from Law School and the ticket office had misplaced ours so gave us house seats right behind home. We were surrounded by scouts with radar guns and the two of them were routinely 95+. Ryan hit Ellis Burks with obvious intent. It was a hoot.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 15, 2005 10:39 AM