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President Donald Trump is known for making outrageous claims while denying all attempts to back them up with proof.
He claims he's a genius, but he'll fight against the release of his military academy and college transcripts.
He'll say he got rich legally, but won't let anyone see his tax returns. He'll say there's no corruption whatsoever in his administration, yet refuse to let officials comply with congressional subpoenas.
One of Trump's oft-repeated boasts is his prowess in baseball, frequently claiming he could easily have been a major league baseball player.
I played football and baseball, sorry, but said to be the best bball player in N.Y. State-ask coach Ted Dobias-said best he ever coached.— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1364993519.0
But unlike his tax returns and his school transcripts, receipts for Trump's baseball skills are now available thanks to Slate.
Long story short: Trump was rough in the diamond.
Stats from Trump's time at the New York Military Academy indicate that he was far from pro-material.
Slate reported:
"Combined, the nine box scores I unearthed give Trump a 4 for 29 batting record in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, with three runs batted in and a single run scored."
"Trump's batting average in those nine games: an underwhelming .138. (I found one additional mention of a hit and another of a hitless game in games that didn't have box scores.)"
Trump claims he was scouted by major league teams, but Keith Law—a former scout for the Toronto Blue Jays—said of the stats:
"There's no chance. You don't hit .138 for some podunk, cold-weather high school playing the worst competition you could possibly imagine."
"You wouldn't even get recruited for Division I baseball programs, let alone by pro teams. That's totally unthinkable."
"It's absolutely laughable. He hit .138—he couldn't fucking hit, that's pretty clear."
It wasn't long before people began mocking Trump on Twitter.
This guy would lie about miniature golf. https://t.co/S36Yy3UGLB— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain)1588771415.0
I too was a great ballplayer in my youth. I was so good that I became a sheet metal worker. https://t.co/W9j7Hr96z0— enigman (@enigman)1588783482.0
He batted .138 lmaoooo https://t.co/jDc2L3w5JF— Harry da Prince (@Harry da Prince)1588786900.0
People weren't exactly surprised.
Lying is like breathing to some people.
this is so totally unexpected, stunning-- we are "shocked, shocked." never ever would've thought this.… https://t.co/WUPfs5dJDB— Joyce Carol Oates (@Joyce Carol Oates)1588770444.0
And this is surprising? Why? https://t.co/g1uBfrur8D— Larry Merx (@Larry Merx)1588785943.0
Wait, you mean trumpty dumpty LIED about what a great baseball player he was? Do you think he may have lied about… https://t.co/sP65WSE5xo— judy f (@judy f)1588786367.0
This is one of the less damaging of Trump's 18,000+ lies, but we can only hope he'll strike out in November.
The book Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President's Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies is available for pre-order here.