US President Barack Obama has been selected to throw the ceremonial first pitch of tonight’s Major League All-Star game that will be held at St. Louis.

To avoid short-arming the throw, President Obama says that he intends to warm up before taking the mound in front of a capacity crowd at the Busch Stadium.

“Well, I think it's fair to say that I want to loosen up my arm a little bit,” commented Obama during an interview in the Oval Office.
Obama even reminisced the first pitch he threw at a Chicago White Sox game four years ago.

“I just wanted to keep it high,” Obama said jokingly. “Now, there was no clock on it, I don't know how fast it went. If it exceeded 30 miles per hour, I'd be surprised. But it did clear the plate.”

Obama’s baseman will be Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals. 

“He says he wants to warm up before. So I'm just going to tell him, 'Just lob it up there and don't try to be a perfect throw,” said Pujols, who leads the majors in home runs and RBIs.

“Obviously it's an honor to catch the first pitch from the president, as our leader,” Pujols said. “I think it's going to get to me. As a little boy when I was my son's age, I would never have thought I was going to be on this stage.”

Presidential first pitches always seem to carry more weight than other ceremonial pitches. George Bush, a former owner of the Rangers, threw a convincing strike before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium. That will be a tough act to follow for Obama.