Dr Anthony Fauci picked over Donald Trump to throw first pitch for Nationals season opener

Defending World Series champions Washington Nationals have announced Dr Anthony Fauci - who has been a crucial figure in shaping the United States' defence against the COVID-19 pandemic - will be throwing the ceremonial first pitch during their season opener against New York Yankees. Director of the National Institue of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH), Dr Anthony Fauci is a long-time supporter of the Nationals.

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"Dr Fauci has been a true champion for our country during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout his distinguished career, so it is only fitting that we honour him as we kick off the 2020 season and defend our World Series Championship title," the team said in a statement. The Nationals will compete in their season opener Thursday, July 23, at home against MLB heavyweights New York Yankees.

Fans on social media were elated after the Washington Nationals made the announcement that Dr Anthony Fauci will be commended for his work amid the pandemic. While fans will not be permitted into the stadium, the Nationals opted to continue with the first pitch tradition and honour one of their biggest fans. 

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For a section of the fans, however, the Washington Nationals announcement was the perfect ploy to take a shot at US President Donald Trump, who has so far been at odds with Dr Fauci over the nation's handling of the pandemic. Nationals fans have been quite vocal about their displeasure of Donald Trump's leadership. When Trump made a rare public appearance during Game 5 of World Series 2019, the President was graced with a chorus of boos from the Nationals faithful.

Recently, during a public campaign, Donald Trump labelled Dr Anthony Fauci as an "alarmist," while downplaying the concerns of rising COVID-19 cases in the country. While Trump insisted there is no war of words with the Director of NIH, the US President has not been in agreement with Fauci's calls for strict social distancing guidelines. 

"Well, I don’t know that he’s a leaker. He’s a little bit of an alarmist. That’s OK. A little bit of an alarmist," Trump on Dr Anthony Fauci. 

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Meanwhile, fans continued bashing Donald Trump on social media: 

MLB 2020 season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLB 2020 season has been shortened to a 60-game regular season as opposed to a 162-game season. Washington Nationals will kick off their title defence against the Yankees in a three-game series starting Thursday night (Friday IST). The second MLB Opening Day game will be between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The rest of the teams will play their season opener in the coming days. 

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(Image Credits: AP)