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First pitch before game in Cuba? Obama leaves it to the pros

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Cuban President Raul Castro, right, and U.S. President Barack Obama attend a baseball match between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national baseball team in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. The crowd roared as Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro entered the stadium and walked toward their seats in the VIP section behind home plate. It\'s the first game featuring an MLB team in Cuba since the Baltimore Orioles played in the country in 1999. (Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate via AP)

HAVANA – President Barack Obama let some actual aces take care of the first pitches in Cuba.

Obama watched from the seats Tuesday when former stars Luis Tiant and Pedro Luis Lazo tossed out the ceremonial balls before the Tampa Bay Rays took on the Cuban national team.

And that was totally fine with the president.

“Nothing is more stressful than throwing out the first pitch,” he kidded on an ESPN interview during the game.

A noted basketball player, Obama last threw out a first ball for a major league team at the Washington Nationals’ home opener in 2010. That lob was pretty high and wide.

“I did not play a lot of baseball as a kid,” Obama said.

This month at spring training, a few All-Stars reviewed video of the 54-year-old lefty’s toss and offered tips.

“Is he actually left-handed or is he right-handed?” Twins closer Glen Perkins asked. Told Obama was indeed a southpaw, he suggested: “I would try throwing it right-handed. That’s the first thing I would do.”

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