As Major League Baseball’s Opening Day rapidly approaches, one key figure will not be on the mound ready to show off his fastball: President Joe Biden.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden will not throw out the first pitch at Nationals Stadium on Opening Day this year, Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed

  • The tradition of throwing out a first pitch dates back to President William Howard Taft in 1910, and nearly every president save for Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump has thrown out a first pitch at some point during their term

  • Biden, a baseball player in his youth and a member of the Little League Hall of Excellence, previously threw out the Opening Day pitch in 2009 in Baltimore

  • Major League Baseball will start the 2021 season on April 1

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed a report from The Washington Post that the 46th president will not be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Stadium in Washington for their home opener against the New York Mets.

“I know the president's eager to get out to Nationals Stadium,” Psaki said Tuesday. "Many beautiful days, many beautiful baseball games ahead this spring.” 

“It's not on the president's schedule this week but I certainly expect that baseball fans will be hearing from him in next couple of days,” she teased.

Psaki did not elaborate on why Biden was not participating in the event.

The Nationals invited Biden to throw out the first pitch on Nov. 7, 2021, after many news networks called the race for the Democrat, writing on Twitter “we look forward to hosting President-Elect Biden on Opening Day of the 2021 season.”

The tradition of throwing out a first pitch dates back to President William Howard Taft in 1910, and every president save for Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump has thrown out a first pitch at some point during their presidency. 

Carter would later go on to throw out the first pitch at the 1995 World Series in Atlanta, and again in 2004 to mark the first MLB game at San Diego’s Petco Park. 

Trump did not throw out a first pitch as president, but has thrown out first pitches prior to his turn in the White House, including a memorable occasion in 2004 when he landed his helicopter at center field for the Somerset Patriots — a minor league affiliate of the Yankees based in New Jersey — before throwing out the pitch.

Last year, Trump claimed that Yankee President Randy Levine asked him to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium just hours before Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch prior to the Yankees facing the Washington Nationals in D.C. for the first game of the coronavirus-delayed season, but later reversed course, saying he needed to focus on the nation’s response to COVID-19 and the economic recovery from the pandemic.

The news reportedly came as a surprise to the Yankees, according to The New York Times.

In 2017, the Nationals invited President Trump to throw out the first pitch before their first game that season. He declined, citing scheduling conflicts. This time, he said that they would reschedule for later in the season.

Biden, a baseball player in his youth and a member of the Little League Hall of Excellence, previously threw out the Opening Day pitch in 2009 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Major League Baseball will start the 2021 season on April 1.