Politics Meets Pop Flies: The Congressional Baseball Game
In Snake in the Grass (book 3 of The Fina Mendoza Mysteries series) partisanship has gotten so bad, somebody's dumping snakes in the gym bags of members of Congress who are playing in the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game.
Fina's father, Congressman Arturo Mendoza, is playing this year and his daughters are there to watch.
After school, Gabby and I walked to Nats Park. We had to stand in a long line that stretched out to the street. People ahead of us wore blue or red tee shirts with numbers on the back.
“What do you think the numbers mean?” I asked.
“They’re probably staffers,” said Gabby. “That must be the number of their boss’s congressional district.”
“We should be wearing number 34 for Papa,” I said. But we weren’t. Nobody told us about the numbers.
There were no seat numbers on our tickets, but it wasn’t hard to figure out where to sit. Half the stadium was dressed in Republican red. The other side was wearing Democratic blue. That’s the side where we sat.
One of the Oldest Traditions in Congress
Last week, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle took their disagreements outside - to the baseball field - for the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game.
It's a tradition that stretches back more than a century.
(photo courtesy of Library of Congress)John Tener was born in Ireland, the seventh of ten children. After emigrating to America, he was also an orphan.
His became an American success story, becoming a major league pitcher, a successful businessman, a United States Congressman, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and President of the National League.
He also invented the Congressional Baseball Game.
That first game was played in 1909, led by the right handed Republican from Pittsburgh. Tener must have had a bad day on the mound. The GOP team lost, 26-18.
(photo courtesy of Congressional Baseball Game)The game continued off and on over the years, interrupted by the Depression and World War II. Sometimes, actual lawmaking - or leadership - interfered.
In 1914, the Speaker of the House had to send the Sergeant at Arms to the ballfield to drag lawmakers back to the Capitol to work on a bill.
House Speaker Sam Rayburn cancelled the game completely in 1958, saying it had become too physical.
(photo of Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) after the 2014 game courtesy of Kitty Felde)Speaker Rayburn Might Be Right
It's not unusual to see members of Congress wearing a sling or a cast or hobbling around on a cane the week after the Congressional game. These players take it seriously.
In 1956, a collision at home plate sent catcher Rep. Charles Curtis, R-Mo sprawling. He had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.
A gunman opened fire on Republican players practicing for the big game. Five people were wounded, including the current GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise. These days, lawmakers take batting practice under the watchful eye of the Capitol Police.
In 1993, a trio of congresswomen broke the gender barrier at the Congressional Baseball Game: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Blanche Lambert (D-AK).
In 2009, a Congressional Women's Softball Game was started with women members of Congress playing against a team of female reporters.
Finally, in 2022, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez D-CA became the first female manager of the Congressional Baseball Game.
This year, Republicans continued their winning streak, defeating Democrats by the score of 13-2. Of course, that's better than last year when they lost 31-11.
It's all about the pitching. Democrats lost their ace pitcher Cedric Richmond (D-LA), when he left Congress to work in the White House. Richmond, with his 80-mph fastball, left the team with a record of 8-0 and an ERA lower than most Major League pitchers: 2.64.
Wednesday's Congressional Baseball Game raised $2.8 million for various charities in and around Washington, D.C.
