Major League Baseball on Tuesday honored this year's recipient of the Hutch Award, presented annually to a player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of its namesake, former MLB pitcher Fred Hutchinson.
This year's recipient: Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci, 81, is just the second non-player to win the award since its inception in 1965; former president Jimmy Carter is the other. The top medical adviser to Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden is best known for his considerable self-regard, his palpable disdain for the American people, and his insatiable lust for attention. More than one million Americans have died on his watch from COVID-19, the majority of whom perished after Biden took office in 2021.
The so-called science expert accepted the Hutch Award in Seattle before the hometown Mariners' game against the New York Yankees. Fauci also threw out the ceremonial first pitch at T-Mobile Park, where he was greeted by what the Associated Press charitably described as "mostly cheers … with some boos mixed in." His form and accuracy have improved considerably since Fauci threw out the first pitch (while wearing a mask) at Nationals Park in 2020.
People may disagree as to whether Fauci really deserves an award typically given to active MLB players. (Fact check: He does not.) Nevertheless, the old geezer did prove he could throw a baseball better than former president Barack Obama.
A Washington Free Beacon analysis determined that while both men are egregiously unskilled in the art of pitching, Fauci holds a slight edge due to his advanced age and his slightly less bad form. Neither Fauci nor Obama came even remotely close to hitting the strike zone in their two attempts, but whereas Obama regressed significantly from 2009 to 2010, Fauci has actually improved a great deal since 2020.
Alas, they will never be in the same league as Greatest Living President George W. Bush, who healed a nation by slinging a four-seam heater right down the middle before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series in New York City several weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
