Politics

George W. Bush Throws First Pitch in Japan Series Game

By Amanda Sterling

November 3, 2009 / 4:57 PM EST / CBS News

(AP Photo/Shinji Oyama)

Former president George W. Bush lobbed the opening pitch of Game Three in the Japan Series - the country's version of the World Series - last night in Tokyo.

The game took place at Tokyo Stadium, and was played between the Yomiuri Giants and the Nippon Ham Fighters. Mr. Bush, who once co-owned the Texas Rangers, attended the game with former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is also a professed baseball fan. The two have held a close relationship since Mr. Bush's presidency. U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos and record-setting home run hitter Sadaharu Oh were also present at the game with Mr. Bush, reports the Associated Press.

(AP)

Not everyone, however, was glad to see the former president, AP reports. Outside the stadium, dozens of demonstrators marched and carried signs, which bore messages such as "Bush, Go to Jail" and "Arrest War Criminal Bush," to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq initiated by the Bush administration. One protester even hurled his shoes at the former president in an apparent imitation of Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who got prison time for throwing his own shoes at Mr. Bush during a 2008 press conference in Baghdad.

Mr. Bush, apparently, was unfazed. He tossed the first pitch to Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe, which bounced once (despite New York Yankee Derek Jeter's famous warning to the president back in 2001, "Don't bounce it, they'll boo you") before Abe caught it. The former president then briefly socialized with the players before retiring to a private box with Koizumi, Roos, and Oh to watch the game, according to AP.

The Giants won seven to four, giving them a two to one lead over the Fighters in the best-out-of-seven championship series.

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