Rep. Mike Doyle has big plans for Friday. The Pennsylvania Democratic congressman plans to hug the winner’s trophy of Thursday’s Congressional baseball game on the House of Representatives floor before envious Republicans.
“Both sides rub it in when they get the opportunity,” said the Democrats first-year manager and catcher.
Forget political football. Republican and Democratic congressmen have played baseball sporadically since 1909. The 45th meeting tonight at RFK Stadium should raise more than $100,000 for Washington charities in what’s more than a friendly game.
The Republicans dominated, 19-10, last season, a drubbing their counterparts haven’t forgotten. The Democrats began practicing for two hours several times weekly over the last month with the unveiled lineup promising a few surprises.
They play hardball on the Hill, baby. This is no church softball game following the Sunday picnic. Some pitches threaten 80 mph. The Nationals could use a guy like that.
Just a game? A large picture in Doyle’s office shows him scoring the winning run in extra innings against Republican pitcher Steve Largent during a downpour in 2001.
Republican manager Michael Oxley of Ohio retires later this year after 12 terms. During a recent speech before a trade group, Oxley was asked about the congressional game. So much for mortgage lending issues.
Oxley regaled the crowd with one funny story after another for 20 minutes. He made this clear — the game is taken seriously by lawmakers.
“You can’t believe how much kidding there is,” Oxley said. “If you make a couple errors, you have to live with it for a year.”
It’s hard to say who fans will back in an election year. Doyle said the crowd has often been split evenly in recent years with 6,000 attending last season. If you think Yankees fans are rough, try someone yelling for a tax cut.
The Republicans have only spent three weeks readying for the game. Guess they’re feeling cocky after a recent run of success at both the polls and playground. The Democrats are eager for a new scouting report on Pennsylvania Republican Bill Shuster, who has lost 60 pounds since last year’s game. Shuster is a former youth baseball coach and a good gap hitter who can benefit from RFK’s long alleys.
“We were kidding Bill we’re going to bean him because if he hits into the gap he might have a home run,” Doyle said.
The Democrats’ big bat might be wielded by Washington Rep. Adam Smith. The 41-year-old shortstop is more of a Jose Vidro-type hitter, but line drives tend to get past old legs in the outfield.
“It’s one game a year so you never know,” Smith said. “My athletic career hit a wall at age 14 because of bad knees, but I always had a good eye for hitting the ball.”
There’s no word on whether the nation’s top baseball fan in the White House could play. Certainly, we often see President Bush with plenty of Little Leaguers on the White House lawn. Bush turns 60 on July 6, but that wouldn’t even make him close to the oldest participant.
New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell is 69. His past five-game hitting streak was believed to be the series’ longest. Just think, Pascrell was playing sandlot ball during World War II. Six decades later, he’s still thinking, “Throw me the fastball, meat.” Pascrell didn’t return my call. Guess he’s working on his game face and at that age might need a little extra time.
Then again, don’t we all.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
