WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump recruited Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera to help mark baseball’s opening day with a group of Little League players at the White House.
Trump said the return of sports was “a tremendous thing psychologically for our country” in the midst of the pandemic.
Rivera made a surprise appearance at Trump’s late afternoon virus briefing. The president said the two of them would be heading outside to see “some beautiful young Little Leaguers outside with a great future ahead of them. They’re already practicing on the front lawn of the White House.”
Rivera, the former New York Yankees relief pitcher and a Trump supporter, looked on as the president announced he was canceling the Florida portion of the Republican National Convention next month due to the coronavirus.
After the briefing, the two joined a group of about 15 young players who were playing catch on the South Lawn. One of the players gave the president and Rivera a glove and ball, and they soon joined in. “There was nobody like Mariano,” Trump said as the two tossed the baseball back and forth.
Trump said he’d been invited to toss out the opening pitch on Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium.
