Dr. Anthony Fauci isn’t great at pitching, but to be fair, the man is 79 years old and likely doesn’t have a lot of time to play baseball because he’s busy trying to help save the world.
On Thursday night, Fauci had the honor of throwing the ceremonial opening day first pitch between the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees. Though Fauci is a very talented man off the field, on the field, he could use a little practice.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases approached the pitcher’s mound looking cool as hell in a Nationals jersey, cap, and one of his signature Nationals face masks. But when it came time for the pitch, Fauci threw the ball wide.
But just as you’re about to say, “Man, that pitch was almost as bad as 50 Cent’s,” Fauci throws his arms up in the air, shrugs, The Temptations’ “The Way You Do the Things You Do” starts blasting, and you’re left with no choice but to stan.
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Fauci’s first pitch was bad. But it was adorably bad. It filled my heart with the same feelings of innocence and elation that I get when watching Robert DiNiro act in the 2005 movie, The Intern. And it also perfectly summed up the way 2020 is going.
Twitter users couldn’t resist making a few jokes about Fauci throwing the ball so far outside the mound, but he knows a lot of people love him. (And his home office.) So it’s all in good fun.
Dr. Fauci is a hero for all time, and he can throw as many bad pitches as his heart desires. We will still love him.
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) July 23, 2020
NOBODY MAKE FUN OF FAUCI’S PITCH HE DID HIS BEST
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) July 23, 2020
Dr. Fauci was clearly just making sure the ball and pitcher were properly social distancing. OK? Leave him be.
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