Dr. Anthony Fauci launched the first ceremonial pitch on opening day before the Washington Nationals game against the New York Yankees on Thursday and the pitch was, to be nice, less than perfect. While the tone went viral for the wrong reasons, the infectious disease expert was still able to laugh and mock himself.
For anyone who has missed it, here is the tone:
In his defense, Facui is a great defender of social distancing, so perhaps he just wanted the ball to be socially distanced from the receiver. After the fact, Fauci was able to avoid embarrassment by saying (via The Washington Post):
“It went in the wrong direction,” he said. “Then I joked and said that he used to be a shortstop when he played ball as a kid and I thought he was supposed to throw at first base.”
In discussing the security measures MLB has implemented for WaPo, Fauci became more serious and said he felt that the precautions they had taken had made it safe to return.
“When we were discussing how to open baseball again, I was one of those that I’m sure they consulted,” he said. “And one of the things that we said is important is supreme safety for the players and their families, the safety of the staff and the safety of anyone who might be a spectator. And what they have done, as we did last night, there was no spectators in the stands and the players had followed a strict protocol. “
The MLB return-to-game plan includes extensive security measures, such as testing every other day, the use of masks in expanded shelters and without fans in the stands.
Fauci also discussed the NFL’s comeback with the post, but, because the sport is more contact-driven, he was more vague about his feelings.
“It is very difficult to say that you have to do some kind of really careful protocol if you want to play soccer, which is such an inherent contact sport at the university or professional level. But I think you should take a look at how they are trying to do it , what are the protocols, “said Fauci. “I certainly can’t judge that. I can only talk to people about what some of the risks are and what some of the security procedures should be.”
He declined to say whether he would discourage or encourage football at any level of return, noting that he wanted to be “realistic” about the challenges of a return.
