House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.) threw a strike in his ceremonial first pitch at the Washington National's opening-round playoff game Friday night, which was also his birthday.
Scalise was shot in the hip and nearly died in June and he had to throw from a walker—but he had no trouble delivering a perfect pitch to Capitol police special agent David Bailey, who was also injured in the shooting.
After taking a bullet on a field in Alexandria, Va., Scalise was visibly happy to return to the diamond, and he expressed his gratefulness on Twitter after.
What a memorable birthday! I threw the first pitch at tonight's @Nationals vs. @Cubs #NLDS game! pic.twitter.com/1F7XrRGwiP
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) October 7, 2017
Scalise returned to the House of Representatives last week to warm greetings from his colleagues, and he expressed thankfulness for his recovery.
"It's only strengthened my faith in God, and it's really crystallized what shows up as the goodness in people," he said. "I got to see that goodness in people, and so while some people might focus on a tragic event and an evil act, to me, all I'll remember are the thousands of acts and kindness and love that came out of this."
Far-left gunman James Hodgkinson targeted Scalise and other Republicans practicing in June for the congressional baseball game. Hodgkinson was killed by police, while all the shooting victims survived.
The Nationals faced the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs in game 1 of the National League Division Series, and they lost 3-0.