Political jabs were replaced with a different type of rivalry Wednesday at the annual Congressional Baseball Game.
Republicans and Democrats took the field to play in the yearly competition that first began in 1909.
“The true fact is we don’t do much like in the old days together with the folks on the other side,” said Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C. ”This is something we can do with them together.”
It’s a charity game, and with more than 30,000 tickets sold and $3.2 million raised, this year’s event was record breaking.
And while the level of play is not exactly professional or sometimes even collegiate level, this is about more than the sport. It’s about mending fences with two political parties at odds about so much these days.
“It starts here on the baseball field,” said Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif. “Hopefully it transcends and translates into our working together in Congress.”
“Anytime you can actually come together, and you can actually see the human element of the other side, it goes a long way towards reconciling differences that we have, and being able to see things from mutual perspectives,” said Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C.
But to be clear — Democrats needed a win. They haven’t taken home a victory since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People said the Spurs weren’t gonna make the NBA finals,” said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, ahead of Wednesday’s game. “People said the Dems can’t win tonight, but I think we’ve got a real shot. We’re gonna leave it all out of the field.”
Democrats have struggled in recent years, but overall, the record is much closer. Going into Wednesday’s game, Republicans led 47 games to the Democrats’ 42.
However, by the end Wednesday night, the tally was one higher in the GOP’s favor.