President Obama threw out the ceremonial first pitch in last night’s All Star game. Although I didn’t watch the game, I happened to catch the pitch:
What I found interesting is the camera angle: The showed the windup and the pitch but not the landing. There’s a consensus in the righty blogosphere that, despite standing in front of the mound, he was short. But, unless they showed a different angle later, how would anyone know?
President Bush’s first pitch when baseball resumed play after a hiatus following the 9/11 attacks, is making the rounds, too. It was quite impressive by presidential standards:
Of course, throwing a baseball in street clothes is not an important standard by which to judge presidents. But it’s an interesting spectacle.
UPDATE: David Pinto agrees that it was “a poor camera angle” live but that “They showed another angle when Obama was in the booth during the bottom of the second, and it did fall short of the plate. It wasn’t a bad pitch, however — better than most celebrities, but not up to Bush standards.”
Glenn Reynolds links a Reuters video clearly showing it short. The reporter bemoans the fact that “the pitch barely makes the plate” despite having practiced in the Rose Garden beforehand.
The commentary is rather amusing, if only for the dry, British delivery.
