George W. Bush Had Back Surgery Before He Bounced World Series First Pitch

Former President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch of this year's World Series. It was far from the prettiest first pitch of his career, but we may now know what that was.

Bush 43 threw out the first pitch ahead go Game 1. It was a fitting choice given the longtime Texan used to be part of the team's ownership group.

The ex-prez sauntered out and threw a pitch that bounced just before home plate. It was nowhere near as perfect as his Game 3 first pitch in 2001, but it was still a respectable effort for a man just a few trips around the sun shy of the big 8-0.

George W. Bush Was Reportedly Playing Hurt When He Threw Out The First Pitch

Now, his daughter, Jenna Bush Hager — known for co-hosting the hour of Today with the wine — said her old man had back surgery not too long before throwing out the first pitch.

"It did not, it curved," she said when asked if the ball made it across the plate. "And he just had back surgery, so unfortunately he probably injured himself."

People confirmed that Bush wasn't the kind of guy to make excuses for a less-than-stellar pitch, but that he did have back surgery recently.

"President Bush isn't one to make excuses, but that's true — he did have fusion surgery on his lower back early this year," a spokesperson said. "He continues to recover well and in fact is looking forward to riding mountain bikes with wounded warriors at his ranch on Veterans Day weekend."

Damn. Now, that's how you do it. We've got NBA players practicing load management and then hear comes Bush 43 itching to wing one (almost) across the plate after back surgery.

If that doesn't make you want to start chanting "USA! USA!" then I don't know what will.

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.