Since Taft, every president but Jimmy Carter has performed the annual rite. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, crippled by polio, nonetheless made eight season-opening tosses, a presidential record. Bush's commitment to baseball won't stop there. Bush said that for the next four seasons, the length of his term as president, he would invite kids from all over the country to play T-ball on the White House field. Bases will be pounded into the president's backyard and wooden bleachers will be assembled within a long fly ball of the Oval Office.
Cabinet secretaries can coach or cheer.
Bush will work with Little League Baseball to invite children 5-8 years old to play. Games will take place about once a month. May. Bush won't throw out the ceremonial first pitch for that first game. He'll place the ball on the batting tee. The White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives will handle the baseball crusade, although it has its hands full dealing with controversy over Bush's plan to fund religious charities.