Baseball Stimulus

President Obama marked a 100-year tradition when he tossed the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

He received a loud ovation from the packed crowd, with a few boos scattered in. He sported khakis, a Nationals jacket and a cap from his favorite team, the Chicago White Sox.

"It was a little high -- a little high and outside," Obama said after the pitch that forced Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to lunge to catch.

One hundred years ago this month, President William Howard Taft led off the Washington baseball tradition with a toss from the stands to pitcher Walter Johnson. From Taft to Richard Nixon, every president made at least one opening day pitch in the nation's capital, until the expansion Senators left town after the 1971 season.