The Tigers best arrive at the ballpark early Thursday. Security presence is expected to be heavy.
President Donald Trump is expected to attend the game between the Tigers and Yankees at Yankee Stadium on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in New York City, according to multiple reports.
It would mark the first appearance by Trump at a Major League Baseball game in his second term, and his second game as president, after attending Game 5 of the 2019 World Series in Washington, D.C., during his first term. Trump declined to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in 2019, and isn’t expected to throw the first pitch Thursday, either.
Baseball and presidents have a long history, dating to President William Howard Taft in the early 20th century, Taft is believed to have been the first president to attend an MLB game, and he attended more than a dozen.
It has been a long time, however, since a sitting president attended a Tigers game.
According to Baseball Almanac, which has logged presidential appearances, the last time a sitting president took in a Tigers game was in 1970, when President Nixon watched the Tigers beat the Washington Senators, 5-0, on Opening Day in D.C. on April 6. Mickey Lolich threw a seven-hit shutout.
Nixon also watched a Tigers-Senators game in D.C. on July 15, 1969, when the Senators won, 7-3, but the Tigers made history by turning a triple play.
George H.W. Bush, as vice president, attended Game 5 of the 1984 World Series at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, when the Tigers beat the San Diego Padres, 8-4, to win the championship. After the game, manager Sparky Anderson took a congratulatory phone call from President Ronald Reagan.
Trump’s appearance Thursday will be the first by a sitting president since his last. According to Baseball Almanac, President Joe Biden didn’t attend any major-league games while in office. The last sitting president not to attend major-league games was Theodore Roosevelt, before Taft became the first to watch a game in person.
The Tigers and Yankees will play three games at Yankee Stadium, Tuesday through Thursday, in what could be a possible preview of a postseason series. First pitch for all three games is set for 7:05 p.m.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
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