The World Series begins tonight as the Dallas-area based Texas Rangers take on the St. Louis Cardinals. Dirk Nowitzki was in line to throw out he first pitch but it doesn’t look like he will be afforded that opportunity any longer.
The Texas Rangers nominated Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki to throw out a first pitch before one of their home games in the World Series, but sources with knowledge of the team’s plans say that the recommendation has been nixed by Major League Baseball.
Unlike regular-season games, all first-pitch assignments in the World Series have to be approved from a list of candidates by the league office.
Sources told ESPNDallas.com that — with the NBA in the midst of a lockout that has spanned 111 days — at least some hesitation stems from the idea that MLB executives want to stand behind their basketball counterparts and have notified the Rangers that they can’t bestow first-pitch honors on an NBA player.
Major League Baseball insists that the NBA’s labor unrest had no impact on Nowitzki not being selected to throw out the first pitch.
“MLB absolutely denies that any part in selecting the first ball pitcher had anything to do with the current labor situation in the NBA,” MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said. “You want the club’s input in what makes sense for them and then we talk about what makes sense for the team and a good broad-base national appeal.
Source: ESPN.com
