The most senior infectious disease expert in the US government, Dr Anthony Fauci, was invited to throw the first pitch of the 2020 Major League Baseball season. The doctor, who has been the most vocal about the handling of the pandemic by the US, only managed a horribly wide throw that sparked plenty of reactions on social media. Wearing a cap, jersey and mask of the Washington Nationals, 79-year-old Dr Fauci walked out to throw the ceremonial pitch against the New York Yankees. The throw was well wide of the home plate and the ball bounced past catcher Doolittle. After the throw, Fauci and Doolittle tapped gloves instead of shaking hands Watch the video here: Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch before the Nationals-Yankees game. pic.twitter.com/04Tbkh7Voa — ESPN (@espn) July 23, 2020 His throw went viral with many in the US drew parallels with how it summed up how the year has gone so far. While there were jokes about the throw, some said the doctor's throw was intentionally wide so that "no one catches anything". Dr. Fauci throwing out the first pitch is all of 2020 in one moment pic.twitter.com/WiXmhx4OFt — Jason Salvatore (@MJPMJP2012) July 23, 2020 He clearly doesn’t want anyone to catch anything — Chuck Giacinto (@ChuckGiacinto) July 24, 2020 Strike. I love Dr. Fauci.❤️🌎 — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) July 23, 2020 Dr. Fauci is a hero for all time, and he can throw as many bad pitches as his heart desires. We will still love him. — Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) July 23, 2020 Here are my 50 cents. that ball is properly socially-distanced — Tom House ⚾️ (@tomhousesports) July 23, 2020 Turns out Dr. Fauci is roughly as bad at throwing a baseball as Donald Trump is at being President. — Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) July 23, 2020 Thank you to Dr. Fauci for showing the nation how to wear a face mask and get in some physical activity! — Governor Sisolak (@GovSisolak) July 23, 2020 Dr. Fauci just proved he spends more time reading biology than throwing a baseball — & thank goodness he does! 🤓📚 #Covid_19 #NerdsForTheWin — Trish Zornio (@trish_zornio) July 23, 2020 I don't care about Dr. Fauci's bad curve ball. I care that trump and his idiotic goons are keeping him from flattening the damn curve in America. — BrooklynDad_Defiant Rep John Lewis! (@mmpadellan) July 23, 2020 "Dr Fauci has been a true champion for our country during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout his distinguished career, so it is only fitting that we honor him as we kick off the 2020 season and defend our World Series Championship title," the Nationals said ahead of the game, in a statement to MLB.com. MLB also shared a photo of Dr Fauci on its official Twitter handle thanking him and all frontline workers. Dr. Anthony Fauci helps us get the 2020 season underway. We are grateful to him and all the courageous frontline workers and healthcare heroes who continue to keep us safe and made our return possible. pic.twitter.com/8Ldqy3HTdk — MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2020 "I'm quite nervous about it," Fauci had told the Washington Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman, who is sitting out the season for safety reasons, citing the virus. "OK, well don't worry about it," Zimmerman responded in a tweeted video. "If you bounce it, there's nobody there to boo you. So, you'll be good to go." World Series Champion Ryan Zimmerman gives Dr. Anthony Fauci a pep talk before his #OpeningDay first pitch. (Which, by the way, is TOMORROW.)@MLB // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/zoVNU3jUw8 — Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 22, 2020 In the same match, players from both clubs wore t-shirts saying Black Lives Matter during batting practice in Washington. The letters BLM were stencilled into the back of the mound at the center of the diamond. Both teams also held a long black ribbon while standing spaced out along the two foul lines and after they placed the ribbon on the ground everyone got on their knees. Today, and every day, we come together as brothers. As equals, all with the same goal - to level the playing field. To change the injustices. Equality is not just a word. It’s our right! Today we stand as men from 25 nations on 6 continents. Today, we are one. pic.twitter.com/vKUGdRfwgQ — MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2020 Not long before the highly-anticipated game, US President Donald Trump had announced he will throw the opening pitch at Yankee Stadium on August 15. Trump told reporters he was invited by his friend Yankees president Randy Levine. He wondered how it would go with no crowd in the stands amid the pandemic. “They say, ‘How’s the crowd gonna be?’ And you know, it’s like you don’t have a crowd, there was no such thing it’s gonna be interesting,” Trump said.
