One day after President Donald Trump said he plans to attend the fifth game of the World Series, the Washington Nationals announced that the first pitch will be thrown by Spanish chef José Andrés, a well-known critic of Trump.

Four years ago, José Andrés abandoned plans to open a restaurant at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, following Trump's controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants during the presidential campaign.

The Trump Old Post Office, which manages the hotel under a lease agreement with the General Services Administration, responsible for the federal government's real estate, sued José Andrés' companies, Think Food Group and Topo Atrio, in July 2015 for breach of contract and claimed damages exceeding 10 million dollars.

The chef canceled his plans to open the restaurant arguing that Trump's derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants made it difficult to operate a Spanish restaurant in the location.

José Andrés' companies filed a countersuit, and the litigation before a federal court was settled in 2017.

The Nationals made the announcement on Friday. Major League Baseball reported that the decision on the ceremonial act is made jointly between the host team and MLB.

Washington leads 2-0 against Houston in the best-of-seven series. The third game is played on Friday, so a fifth match on Sunday is not yet guaranteed.

On Friday, José Andrés tweeted that he felt honored by the decision, but that he was rooting for a Nationals sweep.

"I really hope that on Saturday night all of Washington will be celebrating" a championship, he wrote.

Trump would be the first sitting president to attend a World Series game since George W. Bush threw the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium before the third game of 2001.

Other presidents who have attended the World Series are Woodrow Wilson (1915), Calvin Coolidge (1924), Herbert Hoover (1929, 1930, 1931), Franklin Roosevelt (1933, 1936), Dwight Eisenhower (1956), Jimmy Carter (1979) and Ronald Reagan (1983). (D)