Original Airdate 05-19-04 Rerun 10-20-04 8 p.m.

Aviv already has several candidates for the position. Shooting is scheduled to take place next month.

Production representatives have already turned to cast assembler, Yael Aviv. "They wanted me to find them an actor, Arab or Israeli, who would play a charismatic role," she said.

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The filming will take place during the afternoon and pregame ceremonies at Camden Yards. The plot of the finale will have President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Fans will have a chance to be in the background of the scene.

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The other fictional presidents to grace the Camden Yards mound were Kevin Kline ("Dave") and Chris Rock ("Head of State").

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Sheen rehearsed the scene earlier in the day, walking from the dugout to the mound and waving to a fictitious crowd. He bounced a few throws to home plate before retreating inside.

Once the real shooting began, Sheen was given four chances to record a strike, or something close to it. His first attempt veered outside, the second was high, the third skipped in front of catcher Javy Lopez, and the fourth sailed to the backstop.

Asked a few hours earlier what Lopez should look for, Sheen quipped: "A lot of dirt on the ball."

Cameramen and other employees of the show crowded the area in front of the home dugout before the game. Sheen and actor John Spencer, who portrays chief of staff Leo McGarry, were filmed as they toured the clubhouse.

Rafael Palmeiro and Miguel Tejada rose from one of the sofas to shake Sheen's hand, and Jerry Hairston wandered over for an introduction.

"Don't get up," Spencer said to Palmeiro. "You have a game to play tonight."

The actors also stopped by manager Lee Mazzilli's office. "I asked them if they could hit," he said.

Sheen said the mound looked "three miles away" from the plate, another sign that he's not a natural at the sport.

"I'm acting. That's what I do for a living. I'm into fakery," he said. "I'm not a baseball player. I don't have a sense of it at all."

Asked if he would be nervous once the crowd filed in, Sheen said, "Sure, wouldn't you?"

Sheen is the second member of his family to visit the ballpark. His son, actor Charlie Sheen, was filmed at Camden Yards for the movie Major League II.