Cardinal Dolan looked like a natural as he tossed out the first pitch at the Staten Island Yankees minor league game Aug. 11. He drew the biggest cheers of the night from the crowd of nearly 4,000 fans, who saw the home team fall 6-3 to the visiting Tri-City Valley Cats.

The cardinal, a big baseball fan dating to his days as a youngster in St. Louis, has faithfully followed the New York Yankees since becoming the Archbishop of New York in 2009. He wore a team cap and a jersey of the Staten Island Yankees, which was stitched with his name and the number 1 on the back.

The Staten Island Yankees play in the New York-Penn League. Their stadium, Richmond County Bank Ballpark in the borough’s St. George section, offers a beautiful view of the Lower Manhattan skyline beyond the outfield wall.