I must admit, I was not familiar with this baseball game until yesterday.
It was a sad day for most of us. This story is NOT political, it’s a story of baseball.
So, grab a seat and read about this Congressional Baseball Game for Charity.
The game began in 1909, pushed by Rep. John Tener of Pennsylvania,
who once played pro baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, among other teams.
It continued, generally unbroken, until 1958 when Speaker Sam Rayburn ended it
because the game had grown “too physical,” according to the game’s official website.
Four years later, Speaker John McCormack re-started the game —
and began its association with the Roll Call newspaper.
Over the past two decades, the game grew into a bigger and bigger deal.
In the early 2000s —
it was played in Prince George’s County at the home of the Bowie Baysox.
It moved to RFK Stadium in Washington, DC for a brief period in the 2000s.
The game has been at Nationals Park since 2008.
These are generally lighthearted affairs, as CNN’s Chris Moody found when
he attended back in 2015 and saw President Obama cheering against Rand Paul,
who was then just getting ready to mount a bid for
the Republican presidential nomination.
Democrats had dominated for years thanks to the golden arm of Rep. Cedric Richmond,
a Louisiana Democrat. Republicans broke that streak in 2016
when they claimed an 8-7 victory.
Check out this piece from The Atlantic from 2013,
“The fiercest battle in DC is on the baseball diamond.”
Nobody comes to Washington to lose.
The 535 members of Congress are some of the most competitive people
in the world, and some of the more competitive of those suit up
to play congressional baseball. It’s always been that way. It counts.
So when Ross says his colleagues are putting the game ahead of other aspects of the job,
he’s saying they are part of a century-old tradition.
And it’s not just the players’ work that takes a backseat to baseball;
it’s their health as well. The first injury came two days before the first game
in 1909, when Edward Vreeland broke his collarbone at practice,
and recent examples abound.
In 1994, Rep. Mike Oxley shattered his arm
running into Sen. Sherrod Brown at first base;
in 1996, Rep. Tim Holden collided mouth first with Rep. Bill Jefferson in foul territory,
leaving tooth marks in his fellow Democrat’s forehead
and sending them both to the emergency room;
and in 2008, Rep. Louie Gohmert tore his ACL and meniscus on a play at the plate.
The game has such a storied history of injuries that Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas
discontinued the rivalry in 1958, saying it had gotten too physical.
When play resumed in 1962, a new era dawned, one with true bragging rights at stake.
Games would still be played only once a year, but three wins in a five-game series would earn the coveted Roll Call Trophy,
so named after the Capitol Hill newspaper that sponsors the game.
As it stands, Republicans have won 10 of these trophies, and the Democrats have won
only three (the overall win-loss record is much closer, with Republicans having a 41-37 edge).
Already with one win in the current series, and with a team that is arguably better
than last year, the Democrats have designs on getting a step closer
to their fourth trophy.
Naturally, it was the first thing they asked Cedric Richmond after he was elected in 2010.
The answer made him giddy. This was a game Richmond has been mastering since
he was a kid, growing up near a ball field in eastern New Orleans.
Sports were always an important part of Richmond’s life, especially after losing
his father when he was just 7 years old. His coaches became his role models,
and he quickly excelled athletically. By the time he reached Morehouse College,
Richmond was a five-tool baseball player, adept not only on the pitcher’s mound
but also as a center fielder.
When Richmond took the mound for the first time at Nationals Park in 2011,
it was clear that he was in a different league than his mostly potbellied rivals.
With a fastball that topped 80 miles an hour, Richmond looked like he was tossing
Lipitor pills. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
“I’ve been involved with this game for 27 years, and he is the best player
on either side of the aisle I have seen play in the time I’ve been here,”
the GOP’s Barton said.
After that game, Republicans took the year to regroup.
During the three months of practice leading up to the 2012 showdown,
they invested in new pitching machines they could crank up to 85 mph
to get used to Richmond’s speed. They also brought in some young hard-throwing staffers and a few former minor leaguers to toss batting practice.
The Congressional Baseball Game has been solidified in the history of this country,
a bipartisan tradition enjoyed by politicians and citizens alike.
Over the last century the Congressional Baseball Game’s popularity
has contributed to its evolution into a fundraiser for three worthy
and effective DC area charities, The Washington Literacy Center,
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington,
the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation and,
in support of yesterday’s shooting, the Capitol Police Memorial Fund.
Location: Nationals Park
Date: Thursday, June 15, 2017
Gates Open: 5:30 PM
First Pitch: 7:05 PM
General Admission Tickets: $10
Reserved Seating Tickets: $15
Parking: $11
Nationals Park is a baseball park located along the Anacostia River
in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
It is the home ballpark for the Washington Nationals,
the city’s Major League Baseball franchise.
(clips from CNN, Atlantic Monthly and website for Congressional Baseball)
Coaches for teams
President Barack Obama greets members of the Republican team during the annual Congressional Baseball Game between the Democrats and Republicans.
Let’s Play Ball….
Tonight’s Baseball Game is a “Unifying Event”
By Barbara KisKis
John Lennon worn sunglasses
Audrey Hepburn wore Oliver Goldsmith’s ‘Manhattan’ sunglasses
Remember it’s important to protect your eyes 
The Eisenhower’s playing scramble
President Nixon and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev
Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin with President Carter
President Obama and his family
Oh là là ! …Erin, my niece and her daughter, Keely are going
Eiffel Tower
Aunt Barbara
Erin, this is worth seeing for yourself. You will be able to go up the secret staircase, which was hidden behind a book case. I got chills going up the stairs, I could hear the police sirens outside…very eerie feeling. Keely might enjoy reading the book, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.
sagasandstoriesat821lane 