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Latter-day Saint apostles throwing a ceremonial first pitch – Deseret News


Latter-day Saint apostles throwing a ceremonial first pitch – Deseret News

This article first appeared in ChurchBeat Newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday evening.

For several decades, apostles have thrown the ceremonial first pitch at Major League Baseball games, 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 the first pitch over the years? Here is a comprehensive list:

  • Elder Stevenson threw out the first pitch before a Kansas City Royals game in Missouri on August 6.
  • Elder Dale G. Renlund threw the ceremonial first pitch during “Latter-day Saint Night at Camden Yards” before a Baltimore Orioles game against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 25, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • 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 the 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. Here you can see his throw from the mound. This year, the name of the annual Church event at a Dodgers game was changed from Mormon Night to Latter-day Saint Night.
  • Elder Ronald A. Rasband presided over the first ball ceremony at the Los Angeles Angels game against the Seattle Mariners in Anaheim, California, on July 27, 2018.
  • Elder Stevenson threw his first ceremonial pitch as an apostle at a Los Angeles Angels baseball game in Anaheim, California, during the team’s 19th annual Mormon Night game against the Chicago White Sox on July 15, 2016.
  • Elder Andersen also served as the honorary pitcher before a Dodgers game on July 1, 2016.
  • Elder Bednar threw out the first pitch before a Dodgers game against the Cardinals on June 27, 2014.
  • Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, now serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, enjoyed the honor before a Dodgers game against the Philadelphia Phillies in LA on June 28, 2013.
  • Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was serving as a counselor in the First Presidency when he threw out the first pitch before a Dodgers-Mets game on June 29, 2012.
  • Elder Quentin L. Cook threw a strike before a game between the Dodgers and the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on July 22, 2011.
  • Elder M. Russell Ballard was the honorary pitcher at Dodger Stadium on August 6, 2009.

  • The late Elder Robert D. Hales threw the ceremonial first pitch directly into the glove of his catcher, Elder Nelson D. Cordova, a newly called Area Seventy, during a Latter-day Saints evening at Dodgers Stadium on July 19, 2007.
  • The late Elder L. Tom Perry threw out the first pitch before a Red Sox game against the Royals in Boston on May 8, 2004. Who knows, maybe the Red Sox fans’ throw helped break the “Curse of the Bambino” as the team finished the season with its first World Series victory in 86 years.

If you know of another Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who has thrown out a ceremonial first pitch, let me know at [email protected].

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Elder Gary E. Stevenson throws the first pitch at the Royals game against the Red Sox (August 7)

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Apostles are not the only general church leaders who have thrown a ceremonial first pitch.

The charity’s president-general, Linda K. Burton, threw the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game on July 10, 2015.

Nathan Petty

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