Dr. Fauci will throw out the first pitch at baseball's opening game

Dr. Anthony Fauci is about to make a lot of his fellow Washington Nationals fans jealous.

The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has played a central role in the United States' coronavirus response, received an invite from the team to throw out the first pitch Thursday before the defending World Series champs host the New York Yankees to open the baseball season amid the pandemic.

That means Fauci will be one of the few — if not the only — Nationals fans who will get to watch Washington's first home game since the team won the Fall Classic last year in person. Fans, of course, can't attend games this season because of public health and safety concerns, and will be relegated to their couches.

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Fauci, though, will probably be a bit conflicted before Thursday's game since he grew up a Yankees fan and apparently still has affection for both clubs. Tim O'Donnell