No bikini, but Miss Iowa can pitch

WASHINGTON — Decked out in a blazing red Washington Nationals jersey and black shorts, Miss Iowa Katherine Connors struck a pose as Miguel Batista walked onto the baseball field.

“Still want Miss Universe?” she chided him.

“No,” Batista replied, a bit sheepishly.

The Nationals reliever started something of a firestorm this week when he tried to make a joke that some Iowans took as a knock on the physical beauty of those in the Hawkeye State.

To help make amends, the club invited Connors, who hails from Bettendorf, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Friday night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Connors arrived on the field a couple of hours before game time and kept her high-wattage smile going as she was surrounded by cameramen and inquiring reporters.

The flap started Tuesday night when Batista replaced injured rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg at the last minute. Fans started booing when the change was announced.

“Imagine,” Batista said after the game, “if you go there to see Miss Universe and you end up having Miss Iowa — you might get those kind of boos.”

Connors said she wasn't upset like others in the state about Batista's comments.

“A lot of people are mad about it because somebody's talking smack about Iowa and you do not talk smack to an Iowan,'' she said. “They're crazy. But other people just think it's hilarious and they're glad that we're putting Iowa on the map right now.”

She said some Iowans suggested that she wear high heels and her pageant bikini while pitching.
No way on the heels — she was afraid of breaking an ankle or even her neck. She rejected the bikini as too much of a “wardrobe malfunction” risk.

“That thing is tiny,” she said.

She and Batista hammed it up a bit in joint on-field interviews, including one that was broadcast on the park's large video screen and included Batista handing her a multi-colored bouquet of flowers.

Sample question: What should people know about Iowa?

“The main question I get about Iowa is if I have electricity and running water,'' Connors said, “and, yes, I do have both in my house and I'm from a city. I'm not from the farm, so everybody is surprised by that.”

Batista played catcher for the ceremonial toss, helping her with some warmup throws beforehand and showing her how to grip the ball.

His main tip: keep the ball in the air and out of the dirt.

When the time came, her toss had no problem reaching home plate. Several observers agreed that the pitch looked a bit outside, but she was ready to argue the call.

“From where I was standing, it was definitely a strike,” she said as she walked off the field.
Batista said he never thought the whole thing would blow up so much.

“It's kind of funny,” he said. “I mean, what started with a sore arm ended up having a beautiful woman come to town.”

As long as she was throwing pitches, Connors said, she challenged Batista to try walking in a bikini and heels.

No chance, he said.

“That would not be a pretty picture.”

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