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Sports & Politics: MLB on the Oregon Trail?

By Phillip Barnett, Jason Clinkscales, Fidel Martinez | Last updated 10/5/18

“It’s easy to see why Portland would be an attractive option for Major League Baseball. We’re a growing media market with a booming economy and a rich history of local baseball." - Portland mayor Ted Wheeler

The prospect of a Major League Baseball team heading to Portland, Oregon just took one step closer to becoming a reality after the Portland Diamond Project, a would-be ownership group spearheaded by a former Nike executive, announced that they had made bids for two sites for a potential stadium.

Both proposed sites are close to the city's urban core. One option is the Portland Public Schools' old headquarters near where the Trail Blazers play – the group offered the school district $80 million on a property valued at $100 million. The second is on the other side of the Willamette River in an industrial part of town.

Everything is still preliminary, but there's certainly interest on both sides to have an MLB team in Portland. At the local level, the Portland Diamond Group has made a concerted push to local legislators, reportedly spending $30,000 so far lobbying local officials. Similarly, Portland residents have been snatching up "Baseball to Portland" gear in support of the effort.

They have some reason to be excited: Last September, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned that the Rose City was a possible location for an expansion team. It's worth noting that Portland has the country's 22nd biggest media market, larger than several metro areas with MLB teams (here's looking at you, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Milwaukee).

The Portland Diamond Project has stated that they don't care if they get an expansion team or if another team relocates there. If it were to be the latter, a likely candidate would the Oakland Athletics, who have struggled to bring in fans to the Oakland Coliseum. So much so, that they gave away tickets to a game against the Chicago White Sox to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The tactic worked somewhat – it was the largest home crowd the team has had this season – but not even free tickets were enough to fill the Coliseum to capacity, not to mention that MLB said the gimmick didn't count for the team's attendance stats.

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This week in sports and politics history: America’s pastime gets a presidential seal of approval

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"The game of baseball is a clean, straight game." - President William H. Taft

On April 14, 1910, President William H. Taft became the first president to ever throw out a ceremonial first pitch in MLB history, starting a tradition that has continued through President Barack Obama and, eventually (maybe?) with President Donald Trump.

Taft arrived late to the game, which was delayed both because of his tardiness and because of the applause he received from the crowd. Taft threw from the press box on one bounce to Walter Johnson, who got the president to sign the ball and kept it for decades.

Taft wasn’t just the first president who threw out the first pitch, but was the first for a lot of things tying the executive office and baseball together. In May of that same season, Taft became the first sitting president to watch a game outside of the capitol (Pittsburgh) and in September, he attended his third game of the season, making him the first president to attend three games in a season.

In 1912, James S. Sherman, Taft’s vice president, became the first VP to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

It’s become a fun tradition that every president except Jimmy Carter has participated in while in office (Carter would eventually throw out a first pitch in the 1979 World Series between the Pirates and the Orioles). While Donald Trump hasn’t thrown one yet, he last threw out a first pitch at Fenway in 2006, which was a strike. President Trump played first base at New York Military Academy and was reportedly scouted by the Phillies during his playing days.

Other notable first pitches: Trump’s predecessor, President Obama threw out a ceremonial first pitch on the 100th anniversary of Taft starting the tradition while George W. Bush may have thrown the most important first pitch ever during Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, just weeks after the 9/11 attacks. Wearing a FDNY jacket, President Bush threw a perfect strike to to Yankees catcher Todd Greene.

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