The following is excerpted from the Deseret News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Cover image via Church Newsroom.
Apostles have thrown ceremonial first pitches at Major League Baseball games for a couple of decades now, including the one thrown last week by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
So, which apostles have thrown first pitches through the years? Here’s a comprehensive list:
- Elder Stevenson threw out the first pitch before a Kansas City Royals game in Missouri on Aug. 6.
- Elder Dale G. Renlund tossed the ceremonial first pitch as part of “Latter-day Saint Night at Camden Yards” before a Baltimore Orioles-Tampa Bay Rays game in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 25, 2022.
- Elder David A. Bednar threw out the first pitch for the church’s Family Night at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, on July 22, 2019, before a game between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics. Elder Bednar threw a strike from the mound.
- Three days earlier, on July 19, 2019, Elder Neil L. Andersen was the honorary pitcher before a Los Angeles Dodgers game against the Miami Marlins in Los Angeles. See his throw from the mound here. This was the year the name of the annual church event at a Dodgers game changed to Latter-day Saint night instead of Mormon Night.
- Elder Ronald A. Rasband handled the first-ball ceremonies at the Los Angeles Angels game in Anaheim, California, on July 27, 2018, before a game with the Seattle Mariners.
- Elder Stevenson threw out his first ceremonial first pitch as an apostle at a Los Angeles Angels baseball game in Anaheim, California, for that team’s 19th annual Mormon Night game against the Chicago White Sox on July 15, 2016.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
