‘Batista admires the curly W headware’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

As you now know, the 10th day of Strasmas didn’t occur and Miguel Batista was called upon 10 minutes before game time Tuesday to pitch in front of a crowd expecting a phenom.

The Nationals put on quite the show, shutting out the first place Atlanta Braves 3-0 with stellar appearances from the four arms that pitched the game (Batista, Burnett, Storen, Capps).

Afterward, Batista shared what it quite possibly one of the funniest lines of the season with reporters. “Imagine if you go there to see Miss Universe and you end up having Miss Iowa,” Batista joked. “You might get those kind of boos.”

Batista did hear quite a few boos from the stands, but they weren’t aimed at him. The sell-out crowd of 40,034 were displeased by the emergency scratching of baseball Jesus due to what turned out to be inflammation in Strasburg’s right elbow, so they thought they’d express their frustration.

The joke didn’t stop there though. The reigning Miss Iowa, Miss Katherine Connors, was displeased with the comment. The line was taken out of context and misconstrued by Connors and some members of the media alike.

Not only did Batista have to double back and explain himself, but he did do Connors one better than a simple explanation — he sent her flowers.

Way to be Miguel! That’s some good sportsmanship right there.

Update, 3:09 p.m.: Katherine Connors aka the reigning Miss Iowa tweeted that she will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park Friday night when the Nats begin a three-game series against the Phillies. This announcement has yet to be confirmed by the Nationals themselves.

Update, 3:15 p.m.: Miguel Batista was  invited to serve on the judges panel at the Miss Iowa USA Pageant in the fall … and all this because of a simple misunderstanding. Batista has not announced a decision based on the invitation at this time.

Update, 6:03 p.m.: The Nationals have confirmed it — Katherine Conors, the reigning Miss Iowa will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park Friday, July 30.

Side Note: Stephen Strasburg has been placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Rachel Levitin

Rachel moved to DC in the fall of 2005 to study Journalism and Music at American University. When she’s not keeping up with the latest Major League Baseball news, she works on making music as an accomplished singer-songwriter and was even a featured performer/speaker at TEDxDupont Circle in 2012. Rachel has also contributed to The Washington Examiner and MASN Sports’ Nationals Buzz as a guest blogger. See why she loves DC. E-Mail: rachel@welovedc.com.