Although you probably didn’t read one word about it, last Wednesday was a momentous day for liberal baseball lovers. For the first time in 10 years, the Democrats beat the Republicans in the annual congressional baseball game. The final score? 15-10.

On the roster for California were Duncan Hunter and Joe Baca, one on each team, par for the course for our Golden State. Neither are from NorCal, but they’re as close as we will get to representation–unless you’d like to count Nancy Pelosi, who made her cheerleading debut in the Dems’ dugout after the 4th inning. Although she’s one of the leaders of the Democratic pack, the Speaker of the House was only a mere rah rah girl on the diamond; neither team had drafted a woman.

In an award-winning performance, Baca (D-CA) pitched the entire game and truly earned the MVP title bestowed upon him at the end of the match. True, the game wasn’t exactly up to MLB standards, lasting only seven innings. But I’m okay with that, given that these guys have other, somewhat more pressing jobs to do on a daily basis. Baca was applauded for making five strikeouts, throwing 119 pitches and for lasting the entire game.

The other Californian, Hunter (R-CA), had the unfortunate experience of being the last one to bat: He struck out and the game was over. Noted as one of the potential rising (baseball) stars on the Republican side, keep your eye on Hunter in next year’s match up. I’m told he can pitch but just didn’t have the chance this time around.

As for all things baseball, there were a few major differences between League play and Party play.

–Hecklers: The greatest political challenge the ballplayers faced might not have been the politicians on the field. From signage to chants, fans displayed their political preferences, perhaps distracting those just trying to play ball. As reported by the Dallas Morning News, one fan/politico urged one player to “go back to the agriculture committee!” Favorite signs include the Republicans’ “There’s No Bailouts in Baseball” and “Now Serving Choke: The Official Drink of the Democrats.” Less creative were the “No You Can’t” sign and the accronymically-challenged “ESPN: Enough Spending Peoples’ Money.”

–Uniforms: Fun! Each player wore the uniform of his own hometeam. The field looked a little like the All Star game… Unfortunately, because none of the players hailed from the Bay, neither the Giants nor the A’s had a political representative sportin’ their colors. Also unfortunate was the simple fact that these men weren’t exactly Your Fave Crew to See in Tight Pants.

And to throw an odd one out there…

–Infidelity: In baseball–like in any other sport or sector of life–I am certain there are cases of infidelity. But I doubt news of an MLB player’s infidelity ever causes his team to lose its biggest game of the year. In political baseball, however, things are different. According to Fox News, when John Ensign (R-NV) admitted to an extramarital affair last week, he was forced to pull out of the ballgame; he had been scheduled to be the relief pitcher. Oops. I bet missing the game is the least of his problems right now…

By: Clarifornia

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