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Report: Yankees never invited Trump to Stadium for Aug. 15 first pitch

Prior to the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals 2020 season opener, Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch at Nationals Park. While Dr. Fauci prepared to take the mound, President Donald Trump spoke to reporters, claiming the Yankees had invited him to throw out the first pitch on Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium.

But on Sunday, following a game in which Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton kneeled during the National Anthem, Trump tweeted he was no longer able to throw out the first pitch, which baffled the Yankees front office; not because Trump decided to cancel his appearance, but because they didn’t invite Trump to throw out the first pitch on that date to begin with, according to a report in the New York Times. Trump said he’d come to the Bronx later in the season.

From the NY Times: Mr. Trump had not actually been invited on that day by the Yankees, according to one person with knowledge of Mr. Trump’s schedule. His announcement surprised both Yankees officials and the White House staff… 

According to the NY Times, after Trump’s statement of throwing the first pitch caught wind of the White House staff, they scrambled to let the team know that he was actually booked on Aug. 15.

Trump is reportedly a friend of Randy Levine, President of the Yankees, and had hoped to make good on Levine’s longstanding offer to Trump to throw out the first pitch. However, a date and time was never finalized.

The last sitting president to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium was George W. Bush, who fired a strike before game three of the 2001 World Series.