( CNN ) -- President Obama is not shy about showing off his jump shot on the basketball court , but on Tuesday night , it was his baseball skills that were put to the test . President Obama throws out the first pitch at the 2009 All-Star Game onTuesday in St Louis , Missouri . Obama , clad in a Chicago White Sox jacket and blue jeans , threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in St. Louis , Missouri . His low pitch barely reached home plate and the mitt of St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols . Obama became the fifth president to throw out the first pitch at an All-Star Game , but the first in 33 years . He is following in the footsteps of Franklin D. Roosevelt , John F. Kennedy , Richard Nixon , and Gerald Ford . Asked about plans to practice before the game , Obama said Tuesday , `` I want to loosen up my arm a little bit . '' `` The last time I threw a pitch was at the American League championship series , and I just wanted to keep it high , '' the president said of his opening pitch at the 2005 Chicago White Sox-Anaheim Angels game . Aiming high is a good strategy , says St. Louis Cardinals scout Matt Blood , but it takes more than on-point aim to make the perfect pitch . `` Throw it with some force , do n't lob it in there . Try to get a good downhill plane . Try to keep it in the strike zone , '' said Blood , who will be at the game Tuesday . HLN sports anchor Larry Smith , who has thrown out a few first pitches , says Obama has to be careful to `` not try to overpower it . '' `` There 's no speed gun on this . Just make it a nice solid throw to the catcher , '' Smith said . `` The one thing he does n't want to do is bounce it home . Mr. Obama is pretty athletic , so I think he 'll ace this . '' Overpowering it should n't be an issue for the president , who joked Tuesday that he 'd be surprised if his 2005 pitch exceeded 30 miles per hour . The president also needs to make sure he uses his whole arm , Blood said . `` You 'll see a lot of people throw kind of out front . Their elbow will start out front and they 'll never get their arm back behind their body , and wo n't get a full arm swing . It will be real short , and not very rhythmic , '' he said . Former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton said Obama 's at the top of his game , and he can `` afford to take a few chances . '' `` He should toss it a little further to the left . The righties are down by 15 runs in the ninth , they 've got no team leadership . They 're fighting with each other in the opposing dugout , '' he joked . All kidding aside , Obama should `` just go with his instincts , like any good athlete , '' Bouton said . `` You do n't want to throw the ball into the ground or behind you , that 's for sure . '' Obama also does n't want to do what Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory did in his opening pitch for the Reds 2007 season . He missed home plate by 30 feet . Video of the Democratic mayor 's embarrassing throw has been viewed nearly 2 million times on YouTube . But the opening pitch is n't always a light-hearted moment . President Bush described his opening pitch at Yankees stadium during the 2001 World Series as `` the most nervous moment '' of his presidency so far . The game came less than two months after the September 11 terrorists attacks . Bush wore an FDNY jacket to pay tribute to the New York City Fire Department . He stepped onto the pitchers mound , and before a cheering crowd of nearly 60,000 , he threw a strike . The crowded erupted in chants of `` U-S-A , U-S-A . '' Before the game Tuesday night , Obama and all of the living former presidents will appear in a community service video . After the video is shown , Obama will take the field at Busch Stadium and greet the six St. Louis Cardinal Hall of Fame players . He then will throw his pitch to Cardinals ' all-star first baseman Albert Pujols . Major League Baseball said the president will wear a specially made glove for his appearance , with a script Obama 44 and an American flag on it . The glove will then be sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown , New York . If Obama has butterflies about his pitch , Blood says the president should use the nervous energy to his advantage . `` For Obama , I 'm sure he 's dealt with much more pressure than throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game , but I would -- instead of seeing it as pressure -- I would think of it as an exciting opportunity and turn the nervousness into positive adrenaline , '' he said . CNN 's Steve Brusk contributed to this report .
President Obama throws every pitch at All - Star game Tuesday . Starting pitcher Mark Mallory gets lots of attention for his embarrassing play . Obama should ` ` all the nervousness into positive adrenaline , '' he advises .