By Alex Woodward
https://www.independent.co.uk/author/alex-woodward
Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert and a key figure in the fight against the coronavirus, tossed out out the ceremonial opening pitch to mark the beginning of an abbreviated Major League Baseball season on Thursday, as America's pastime returns amid a pandemic with empty ballparks, canned crowd audio and "virtual" spectators for televised audiences.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases appeared on the mound for defending World Series champions the Washington Nationals, though his pitch hit the grass and rolled short of the home plate.
The team faced the New York Yankees to begin the regular season, which has been shortened from 162 games to just 60 – the season typically begins in April and ends in October – as teams attempt to mitigate spreading the virus while navigating new rules for an unprecedented season that league and government officials have insisted must go on.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert and a key figure in the fight against the coronavirus, tossed out out the ceremonial opening pitch to mark the beginning of an abbreviated Major League Baseball season on Thursday, as America's pastime returns amid a pandemic with empty ballparks, canned crowd audio and "virtual" spectators for televised audiences.
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