Obama hopes first pitch clears plate

U.S. President Barack Obama was looking forward to throwing out the first pitch at Tuesday night’s All-Star game in St. Louis.

In a photo op with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende at the White House, Obama told reporters his goal is to get it high and clear the plate.

I think it’s fair to say I wanted to loosen up my arm, the president quipped, adding that he’s been thinking back to when he threw out the first pitch at a 2005 Chicago White Sox game.

I just wanted to keep it high. 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, he joked.