WASHINGTON — The annual Congressional Baseball Game is taking place Wednesday evening at Nationals Park. This long-standing tradition pits Democrats and Republicans against each other, but many of them believe this friendly competition helps build bipartisan relationships.
What You Need To Know
- Freshman Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., is playing on his party’s team and wearing a Bellarmine University uniform
- The funds from the game go to support local charities including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, Nationals Philanthropies and the Washington Literacy Center
- Democrats had a winning streak from 2017 to 2019, and there was no game in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans took home the title in 2021 and 2022
“Regardless of everything going on in Washington right now, you see Democrats and Republicans take the field,” Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., told Spectrum News during an early morning practice. “It does build that sense of comradery that people want to see.”
McGarvey is making the jump from little league straight to a major league ballpark.
“If you had asked me six months ago, I would have told you I am not a baseball player, so coming out for this has been challenging, but it’s also been fun,” McGarvey explained.
Players are encouraged to wear jerseys that represent their district. McGarvey has an emotional connection to the team he chose.
McGarvey will be wearing a Bellarmine University uniform in honor of a childhood friend who played baseball at Bellarmine and later passed away from cancer.
“We actually played little league together,” McGarvey said. “I wanted to make sure I was wearing Bellarmine’s jersey to remember him.”
While McGarvey is a first-time player in the game, one of his coaches Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., is making history as the first woman to coach a team in the Congressional Baseball Game.
“Hopefully, my being out here and is showing that anything they can do we can do inspires more girls and women to play,” Sanchez said.
Although it’s her first time as a coach, Sanchez has been playing in the Congressional Baseball Game since 2003 and her love for the sport goes back much further.
“I grew up in a family of seven kids. All of the guys, all of the boys, played baseball and the women played organized softball,” Sanchez explained. “I grew up with four brothers, so I played enough baseball with them that when I became a freshman member of Congress and heard there was a baseball team, I came out for it.”
Democrats had a winning streak from 2017 to 2019. There was no game in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans took home the title in 2021 and 2022.