Former President George W. Bush recently made headlines for bouncing the ceremonial first pitch at the World Series opener. His daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, shed light on the incident, revealing that her father had back surgery earlier in the year. She explained, “It did not, it curved, and he just had back surgery, so unfortunately he probably injured himself.”
A spokesperson for President Bush confirmed his back surgery, saying, “President Bush isn’t one to make excuses, but that’s true — he did have fusion surgery on his lower back early this year.” Despite the surgery, he is recovering well.
Notably, this wasn’t President Bush’s first time throwing the first pitch at a World Series game. He famously threw a perfect strike in 2001, a month after the 9/11 attacks. He also threw the first pitch at the 2010 and 2017 World Series alongside his father, former President George H.W. Bush.
