CNN

(CNN) – His first love is basketball, but that won't stop President Barack Obama from throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at this year's Major League Baseball all-star game on July 14 in St. Louis.

A league statement posted Tuesday on the MLB.com Web site said Obama will be the fourth U.S. president to throw out the first pitch at the game known as the Midsummer Classic.

The others were President John F. Kennedy in 1962, President Richard Nixon in 1970, and President Gerald Ford in 1976, the statement said.

This year's all-star game, the league's 80th, has been dedicated to raising funds and awareness for charitable initiatives and celebrating community service, the league said.

Obama has made community service a major theme of his administration since taking office in January.

"We are thrilled that we can come together with President Obama, who has encouraged a renewed spirit of national service, and illustrate a call to action in our communities," Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in the statement. "President Obama will continue a great tradition that joins our nation's leader and the national pastime."