 | ||
The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team, but the ritual changed after Ronald Reagan threw the first pitch on the field at an unscheduled appearance at a Baltimore Orioles game. Now, the guest stands in front of the pitcher's mound and throws towards the home plate. He or she may also sometimes stand on the mound (as a pitcher would). The recipient of the pitch is usually a player from the home team.
The ceremonial thrower may be a notable person (dignitary, celebrity, former player, etc.) who is in attendance, an executive from a company that sponsors the team (especially when that company has sponsored that night's promotional giveaway), or a person who won the first pitch opportunity as a contest prize. Often, especially in the minor leagues, multiple first pitches are made.
The practice of having a mayor, governor, or other local celebrity throw out ceremonial "first pitches" dates back to at least 1890. Governor William McKinley of Ohio, for example, "threw the ball into the diamond" before an opening day game between Toledo and Columbus in 1892.
Presidential first pitches
Former Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game of an American All-Star team's tour of Japan in 1908, making him possibly the first former chief executive of any country to throw out a first pitch.
President William Howard Taft started the American tradition of Presidential first pitches in 1910 at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., on the Washington Senators' Opening Day. Every President since Taft has thrown out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch, either for Opening Day, the All-Star Game, or the World Series, usually with much fanfare.