It was your classic beanball, a bit high and tight.

The batter dodged it, however, before facing another beanie on the next pitch.

The batter was the leader of the Free World, President Bush, and he faced a headhunting reporter recently during his most recent and last surprise visit to Baghdad.

At a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a correspondent for a television station removed his shoes and unloaded on the president.

Video clips show first one shoe and then the other flying through the air at George W, who – as one commentator noted – leaned to the left for the first time in his presidency.

Both shoes fell harmlessly to the floor while the reporter, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, was wrestled to the floor before being hustled away by security officials.

Since then, analysts have, well, analyzed the meaning of shoe throwing in the Arab world. Over there it’s considered a “grave show of disrespect,” unlike in the U.S., where throwing shoes at the president is an expression of endearment.

Actually, Al-Zeidi wasn’t entirely hostile during the incident.

As he threw shoes, he shouted in Arabic, “This is your farewell kiss, you dog,” along with other choice words. It’s common knowledge that Middle Easterners show affection with kisses, even men kissing men.

To me, though, the Decider’s reaction to the hurled projectiles is what matters most. Some have said he displayed his athleticism by his ducking response.

I agree, but there’s more to it than that. An athlete reacts according to his sport and W’s is baseball.

A football-playing president would have snared the “passes” before spiking them on the floor. A basketball president would have taken the shoe and laid it in.

From W’s reaction – ducking from the beanball – I can tell he considers himself more of a hitter than a fielder. A sharp infielder would have snagged the line drives and tossed them around the horn.

George Walker Bush played baseball in Little League and at Andover Academy. He was on the freshman team at Yale but never played varsity like his dad, who was team captain as a first baseman.

From 1989 to 1999, W entered another game, becoming part owner and chief executive of the Texas Rangers Major League baseball team and achieving fame with his management skills. His most famous deal was trading Sammy Sosa to the Cubs for Harold Baines.

While the Rangers were never big winners, the ownership group W was with came out as champions when they sold the team for about three times what they paid for it. George’s take was $15 million.

So, W may not have been more than an average ballplayer but he excelled at trading baseball teams. His experience as a player, however, served him well in Baghdad.

Let’s just be glad W never played soccer.



Larry Penkava, who has written Now and Then since 1994, thinks helmets should be required at news conferences.