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Summary
US President Barack Obama celebrated the centenary of a hallowed US sporting tradition Monday, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the baseball season.Obama's toss, kicking off the game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies here, floated high and wide of the plate, but was snared by Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, taking catching duties. The president walked out to the mound wearing a red Washington Nationals jacket, but turned cheers from the crowd into a chorus of boos when he pulled on his trademark Chicago White Sox cap. A little high and outside, Obama told reporters when asked to talk them through his pitch, but at least the president escaped the ignominy of throwing into the dirt or of not reaching the plate. Obama's pitch marked the 100th anniversary of presidential first pitches, a century after the day on April 14, 1910 when the 27th president William Howard Taft threw out an opening day pitch. In a piece of historical symmetry, that game also involved teams from Washington and Philadelphia, the now defunct Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama had spent some time honing his throw, before heading out to Nationals Park.
