And the winners are…

Congratulations to Layna Paraboschi, Jeremy Stein, and Isaac Kauget who hit a home run with their correct answer to this month’s trivia question.

They knew that the first president to throw out the ceremonial first pitch was William Howard Taft, who threw out the pitch before a game between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics at Griffith Stadium on Opening Day in 1910.

Every president since then has thrown out the pitch, although not necessarily on opening day.  President Obama did it twice, in 2010 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C on opening day and at the 2009 All-Star Game in at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.  President Franklin Roosevelt threw out the most first pitches, 11 over the course of his 12-year presidency.

Having the sitting president throw out the first pitch might bring the home team a little bit of good fortune. Of the 78 games with the president throwing a first pitch, the home team as a .526 winning percentage. When Presidents Johnson, Carter, Reagan and Obama threw out the first pitch, the home team failed to win every time. On the other hand, both of President Ford’s first pitches ended in a home team victory.

There will be one more Brain Buster before summer begins.  Stay tuned.