Donald Trump recently announced he was going to throw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game in August. He then said he was going to postpone it due to him having a “strong focus” on the coronavirus. However, the reason he called off attending Yankee Stadium was reportedly because he never was invited. In a report by the New York Times (via The Hill), the Yankees were surprised to hear Trump had plans to throw out the first pitch at an upcoming game. A person who knows Trump’s schedule told the Times the team had no plans of hosting Trump in the near future.
The announcement also came as a surprise to the White House staff. Trump made the announcement hours before Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals home opener against the Yankees. An official familiar with Trump’s reaction told the Times the president was getting annoyed about the media attention Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was getting for throwing out the first pitch of the 2020 baseball season. Trump directed staff to call the Yankees to schedule a date for the first pitch, but a date wasn’t finalized.
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Eventually, Trump decided to call the entire thing off. “Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “We will make it later in the season!” Trump reportedly was looking to follow up on a longtime standing offer from Yankees president Randy Levine.
“Randy Levine is a great friend of mine from the Yankees,” Trump told reporters last week. “And he asked me to throw out the first pitch, and I think I’m doing that on Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium.” Trump might throw out the first pitch at a future Yankees game, but right now the MLB is looking to get a coronavirus outbreak under control. It’s been reported at least 14 members of the Miami Marlins have tested positive of COVID-19, which has led to a few games being postponed or canceled. There has been no indication the 2020 MLB season will be suspended because of the outbreak.
