Bush Throws Out First Pitch at Nationals' Park

President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the brand new home of the Washington Nationals prior to their game against the Atlanta Braves. After playing their first three seasons at RFK Stadium, Nationals' Park is their new home. Unlike when he threw out the first pitch at Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium, Bush was greeted with a chorus of jeers accompanied by a smattering of applause. Bush rushed his pitch to home plate and it was high although with good velocity. He would join ESPN broadcasters Jon Miller and Joe Morgan for the 3rd inning and the top of the 4th. When Atlanta thirdbaseman Chipper Jones hit a solo homerun in the 4th, Bush adroitly noted it was the first homerun hit at Nationals' Park. Bush also discussed steroids and the need for baseball to return to the inner city. Perhaps the most interesting thing he said was that he attended his first major league game at the Polo Grounds where the New York Giants faced the Milwaukee Braves. He did not say when he attended but it would have been between 1954 and 1957. The Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee after the 1953 season and the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958.