President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he would throw out the starting pitch for a New York Yankee game this season.
The president said that Yankees President Randy Levine was a “great friend” and asked him to throw a starting pitch in the stadium at a game in August.
“I said, ‘How’s the crowd going to be,'” Trump joked. “It’s like you don’t have a crowd, there’s no such thing.”
The Yankees confirmed Trump’s comments on Thursday night, according to reports.
Many local officials have prohibited teams from welcoming crowds into sports stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump said he would likely throw the first pitch at a Yankee game on August 15.
The president would likely face a vocally divided crowd in New York City if he arrived at a normally crowded stadium to throw out the first pitch.
During the World Series, Trump was booed by the crowd in Washington, DC, when he attended one of the games. Dr. Anthony Fauci will throw the first pitch at Nationals Stadium Thursday night in Washington, DC.
Major League Baseball returns on Thursday night to empty stadiums, as players and owners finally reached a playing agreement for some kind of season during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump praised the MLB decision to play, describing it as a great boost for Americans.
“I think it’s really good that baseball is opening. It looks like football is opening. It looks like sports are opening,” he said. “It’s a tremendous thing, psychologically, for our country.”