Former president and former Rangers owner George W. Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Texas plays the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series opener on Friday night. This will be Bush's fourth World Series ceremonial first pitch but his first before an opener, the AP reports. Bush, 77, headed the group that bought the Rangers from Eddie Chiles in 1989 and was general partner through November 1994, when he stepped down as he prepared to become Texas governor.
Bush was president from 2001 to 2009 and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium between New York and Arizona. With heavy security following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bush wore a bulletproof vest. As Bush warmed up beneath the stands of old Yankee Stadium, Yankees' star Derek Jeter told him "Don't bounce it, they will boo you," Bush later recalled. Bush threw out ceremonial first pitches with his father, former President George HW Bush, before Game 4 of the 2010 World Series in Texas and before Game 5 of the 2017 World Series in Houston.
The younger Bush's group sold the Rangers in 1998 to Thomas Hicks, who sold the team in 2010 to the current ownership group headed by Ray Davis. Rangers Hall of Fame catcher Iván Rodríguez will be behind the plate for Bush's pitch, Major League Baseball said Thursday. Former Rangers star Adrián Beltré will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 to Rangers Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins. Grammy Award winner H.E.R. will perform the national anthem before the opener and Pearl Peterson, this year's Boys & Girls Clubs of America's national youth talent performer, will sing it before Game 2.
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