Half a dozen members of Congress joined kids and their parents at Nationals Park on Wednsday to take in some batting practice for the annual Home Runs for Horton’s Kids. None of the officials humiliated themselves at the plate, but that’s because some of them didn’t take a swing.
“I’m going to refrain from embarrassing myself,” Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., told Yeas & Nays. “This is an election year. Someone will probably throw a fast slider at me, and then I’ll see that on YouTube and I’ll lose my reelection.”
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Tex., also skipped his turn in the batter’s box but gave a shout out to Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy.
“She can hit the ball,” Barton said in passing. A source familiar with the charity event told Yeas & Nays that Lummis distinguished herself at the plate last year.
“That is a lot of hype,” Lummis said in response. She admitted to a good at-bat last year, but said it was because she had coached the pitcher.
Lummis made good contact with the ball, though she was somewhat shown up by Rep. Mark Critzl, D-Pa., who followed her at-bat with a rocket of a line drive.
