President’s Pitch Falls Short--Again

BALTIMORE — President Bush helped the Baltimore Orioles inaugurate their new baseball park on a picture-perfect afternoon Monday. But once again, his ceremonial pitch wound up in the dirt.

He said his left-handed toss “just ran out of gas” halfway to home plate.

The President, once captain of a top-ranked Yale baseball team, had hoped to redeem himself for his outing last April at the Texas Rangers’ opener, when he also bounced a pitch in front of the plate.

The capacity crowd of about 48,000 greeted Bush with cheers and an undercurrent of boos as he walked to the mound with his 15-year-old grandson, George P. Bush, before the Orioles’ opener against the Cleveland Indians.

Young Bush threw the first ceremonial ball to Orioles catcher Chris Hoiles; then his grandfather followed with a toss that hit the dirt at Hoiles’ feet. The catcher scooped it up on the short hop.