President Donald Trump announced on Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season that he would throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 15, only to cancel those plans three days later.

The news came as a surprise to the New York Yankees, according to The New York Times, since the franchise had never coordinated those plans with the White House.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, threw out the first pitch on Opening Day before the game between the Yankees and Washington Nationals. Trump didn’t like the media attention Fauci received for doing the honors, according to the Times, prompting him to make the announcement without giving the Yankees any warning.

Trump reportedly took it upon himself to tell reporters at a COVID-19 press briefing Thursday that he would partake in the tradition before the Yankees’ Aug. 15 matchup with the Boston Red Sox. The president hadn’t received an invitation by the Yankees for that specific date, a person with knowledge of Trump’s schedule told the Times.

Yankees president Randy Levine has extended a longstanding offer to Trump in the past to throw out a first pitch. In December 2018, Levine denied a report that he was a candidate to become Trump’s chief of staff.

Legendary Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera joined Trump at the White House on the first day of the MLB season to celebrate baseball’s return.

Fauci’s first pitch went viral after it didn’t come close to reaching the catcher’s mitt behind home plate. The country’s leading infectious disease expert received his own Topps NOW limited edition trading card, which set a record with 51,512 card sales in 24 hours.

The Fauci card more than doubled the previous record of 19,396 sales, which had been set by a limited edition card featuring Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Trump has often disagreed with Fauci, a member of his administration’s coronavirus task force, regarding the United States’ response to the pandemic.

Donald Trump Baseball
U.S. President Donald Trump throws a baseball on the South Lawn of the White House on July 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump and former New York Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera met with youth baseball players to celebrate Opening Day of Major League Baseball. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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