Clinton’s Day Turns Into a Real Ball : Vacation: He attends the opening game at Cleveland’s new baseball stadium. Then he sees Arkansas win the NCAA basketball championship.

President Clinton, stretching his spring vacation for one last day, played out a sports fan’s fantasy Monday by attending opening day at Cleveland’s new baseball stadium, then flying on to Charlotte, N.C., to see his beloved Arkansas Razorbacks win the NCAA basketball championship, 76-72.

Clinton, who makes no pretense of objectivity when it comes to Arkansas basketball, could be seen during the game hooting vigorously and nervously watching the seesaw action.

The President returns to a full schedule of health care events and other matters today, but Monday was devoted to presidential sports-watching.

Earlier in the day Clinton, sporting an obsolete but politically correct Indians cap, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to start the first game of the season between the Indians and the Seattle Mariners at Cleveland’s Jacobs Field. He lobbed the ball the full 60 feet 6 inches across home plate, where it was fielded by Indians catcher Sandy Alomar.

Clinton knew his pitch had a loopy beginning but he was determined that the ball make the full trip to the plate.

“It started high,” the President said. “The only thing you can’t do is put it in the dirt.”

Former President George Bush, a starting first baseman on his Yale University baseball team, suffered the humiliation of bouncing one to the plate on opening day in Baltimore in 1992.

While the President performed the obligatory rite of spring in Cleveland, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, an ardent Chicago Cubs fan, threw the first pitch for the home opener between the Cubs and the New York Mets at Wrigley Field. Mrs. Clinton, wearing a blue Cubs blazer and baseball cap, threw an overhand toss from the stadium seats that landed in the glove of Cubs catcher Rick Wilkins who stood 15 to 20 feet away.

Clinton, in an obvious effort to avoid offending anyone--except, perhaps, Indian fans--wore a nylon Indians warm-up jacket and a blue and red cap marked with a simple block C emblem. Neither article of clothing bore the politically incorrect but locally revered Indians logo, the grinning Chief Wahoo.

The Indians dropped the chief for two years in the mid-1970s in deference to the sensibilities of Native Americans, but restored their historic mascot in 1977 and he has appeared on their uniforms and caps ever since. It is one of the most popular sports logos in the country.

As Clinton walked through the tunnel to the field, some of the Indians players razzed him by shouting, “Let’s go, Duke!” --referring to Arkansas’ opponent in the basketball title game.

Indians general manager John Hart said that the presidential visit was “outstanding for us in Cleveland.” He said that the new field is a symbol of the economic renaissance of Cleveland and that Clinton’s presence in the heavily Democratic city was “really special.”

But Alomar, the all-star catcher, said that he had not voted for Clinton, whose economic program includes sharply higher taxes for the wealthy--including millionaire ballplayers.

“I don’t vote for nobody that takes my money,” said Alomar, who recently signed a three-year, $7.6-million contract with the Indians.

Clinton’s sports odyssey drew a larger than usual contingent of senior White House staff. Accompanying the President to Cleveland and Charlotte were Red Sox fanatic and National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, political consultants James Carville and Paul Begala, senior adviser and former Clevelander George Stephanopoulos, and White House Chief of Administration David Watkins.

Before stepping into the sports spotlight Monday, the Clintons began their day with the annual egg roll for children on the White House lawn. Some 27,000 youngsters participated in the event.

Most of the 30,000 speckled eggs provided for the occasion bore a silhouette of the White House and the signatures of the President and Mrs. Clinton.