<p>Need help. I had a bet with my son on whether Obama would make it to the catchers glove or would bounce it. All the footage I can find of the pitch don’t show decisively whether it got there or not. We watched last night but couldn’t tell.
Anyone know for sure??</p>
<p>Just watched it on youtube. You couldn’t see the plate but the announcer said “to the plate and to the glove”. Search youtube for “obama all-star pitch” - watch the one with like 35,000 hits.</p>
<p>I think the cameraman did an awful job of filming BO’s pitch. He seemed happy with it though!
Gotta love those baggy jeans from the 'hood, right?</p>
<p>I think the camera angle was deliberate so as not to show the result. There was a shot later from a different angle that showed that Pujols reached out and snagged it just before the turf.</p>
<p>This clip has both:</p>
<p>[Yahoo</a>! Sports Minute](<a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos)</p>
<p>I do give Obama credit for stepping up on the mound as opposed to being in front of the mound - but Pujols cheated forward several feet to compensate. Why is it that Presidents can’t throw?</p>
<p>Thanks for the link - much better!</p>
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<p>This Prez launches jump shots instead of throws. Last night’s throw would have made a dandy jump shot!</p>
<p>I did not mean that as a criticism of only this president - other than Bush, I can’t remember a President who could actually throw a baseball as well as an 8 year old little leaguer…</p>
<p>He definitely threw it a bit low. Consensus seems to be that it bounced. I watched the Reuters video, and it looks like it hit the ground just inches in front of the plate but the catcher caught the bounce nicely. I think I can’t link the video here because of TOS, but the site is
[Video</a> - Top News Videos, Business, & Entertainment Videos | Reuters.com](<a href=“http://www.reuters.com/news/video]Video”>http://www.reuters.com/news/video) and the video id is 107982.</p>
<p>I cut him no slack on the issues, but think it’s appropriate to cut him some slack on the pitch. Like W, he did it in a thick bulletproof vest. Come to think of it… woody, maybe those gangsta jeans were camouflaging a thick bulletproof cup! ;)</p>
<p>@scualum: It’s the bulletproof vests. They’re thick, heavy, and unwieldy. Must take some fair practice to throw around them.</p>
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<p>Wow - that didn’t occur to me.</p>
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<p>It appeared to me that Obama stepped straight up onto the mound and threw it super-quick. I think I read somewhere that the camera guy was trying to get into position when he threw the ball. Personally I don’t see it as a big deal and find it funny that there are those who think it’s some sort of conspiracy against the President.</p>
<p>I think it was a conspiracy by the White House to keep the President from being embarrassed!</p>
<p>AS a lifelong baseball fan, I consider it a big deal. I want to know whether the celeb/statesman can make it anywhere near the plate. Ds and I were so bummed not to see where the pitch landed. It looked like it was on line to be over the plate, though Pujols seemed to have creeped up in front of the plate to avoid a bounce.</p>
<p>You know, they should let the President warm up to get used to the distance and height of the mound, maybe use the bullpen first? No POTUS in my lifetime but Bush ever threw a decent strike to the catcher, but I suspect that having been owner of the Rangers once, W knew more about baseball than your average politician.</p>
<p>On the whole, Obama’s pitch was not a great one, but he made up for it with a good interview during the second inning game with the broadcasters, and the players seemed very happy to see him.</p>
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I could swear I saw a significant amount of butt-wiggling (from the official camera angle) before he made the pitch.</p>
<p>Hmmm. Just checked the Reuters video again, and it’s quite clear that he spent some time on the mound before actually throwing the ball. Sorry hops, this idea doesn’t pan out.
[Obama</a> makes first pitch at All-Stars | Video | Reuters.com](<a href=“http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=107982&videoChannel=1]Obama”>http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=107982&videoChannel=1)</p>
<p>I read that they replayed center field footage of the pitch on the big screen in the second inning. So I think it’s more likely that they didn’t show it live in case the pitch was embarrassingly bad, but then it was ok’d for showing the other angle from tape. Politics aside, our President reflects our national virility… I’m pretty sure none of us wants the President of the US to look like a girlie-man at our national pastime. :D</p>
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News stories earlier this week said that he’d spent a fair amount of time practicing the day before. He was nervous about throwing a dud. Don’t know whether he practiced in a vest or not, though!</p>
<p>Whether Pujols crept up for the catch or not, it wouldn’t have been a strike unless the batter was maybe a foot and a half tall. Definitely not a total embarrassment, though.</p>
<p>I don’t expect a strike; I think that’s too much to ask for. I just want it to reach the plate.</p>
<p>Just watched the Reuters video. Looked better than the angle I saw on Fox. Ooooh, Fox. NOW I see what happened … :D</p>
<p>hops scout is right; it was a quick pitch, so I think the cameraman was caught off-guard. Yeah, there was some butt-wiggling, but it was still much quicker than a regular pitch.</p>
<p>Not only wearing the bullet proof vest, but a Chicago White Sox jacket. You try throwing with that stuff on. Pujols squatted right in front of the plate and I don’t think the ball bounced. But, no question that baseball is not the POTUS’s sport.</p>
<p>Thanks for the links. We are going to call it a draw because we think if Pujols hadn’t been squatting on the plate it would have bounced.</p>
<p>It looked to me as if his hand started too far in front of his elbow. I’m not a baseball fan but the service motion in tennis is similar and the elbow generally leads the hand so that you can get the chain of acceleration going from the motion of the wrist, arm, shoulder and hips.</p>