The GOP won the annual congressional baseball game on June 11, beating the Democrats, 13–2, and extending their winning streak to five games.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who played third base most of the night, was named the most valuable player.
Pfluger made a spectacular play in the top of the first inning, diving on the ground for the ball and diving to third base to get the third out as the Democrats, whose average team age was 50, failed to take advantage of a solid start with loaded bases.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) pitched most of the game for the GOP, whose average team age was 54, and got seven strikeouts. Rep. Chris DeLuzio (D-Pa.) pitched for the Democrats and had two strikeouts.
Ahead of the game, players talked about the keys to winning the game, which sold more than 31,000 tickets and raised more than $2.8 million for charity.
“Hitting and pitching, those are the two secret sauces that we really try to give attention to,” Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) told The Epoch Times.
“There’s no substitute to just getting out there, getting good batting practices in, get scrimmages, to get the live feel of the games,” he continued. “So we’ve really been focused on hitting and also our pitching.”
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told reporters that the key to his team winning would be “strong pitching.”
“We got to play this good defense. Get the out,” he said. “Don’t throw the ball around, don’t let them get extra bases, and just get the out.”
There were no injuries on either side during the game.
The annual game has traditionally been an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to set aside differences.
But for Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), who was drafted into the MLB but didn’t play in the majors, it is a rivalry.
“The game is, everybody says it’s nonpartisan, but it is partisan. So it'll be just like everything else,” he said.
“We’re trying to score more runs than they score, and we want to win. They want to win,” he continued. “It’s going to be hard-fought, and I think that we got a good chance to keep our record victories going.”
The game has been in the spotlight more since 2017, when House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot by a gunman, who was then shot and killed by Capitol Police. Capitol Police were on the scene as Scalise is a member of congressional leadership. The incident happened on a practice field in Alexandria, Virginia, the day before the game. Scalise eventually recovered and has played in the game since. He only batted once in this year’s game as he got a groundout.
The game was also an opportunity for Republicans to bond as they look to get the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to President Donald Trump’s desk. The bill, which has passed the House and is pending before the Senate, would make the 2017 tax cuts permanent and includes provisions related to energy and border security.
When asked by a reporter if the game helps foster bipartisanship, Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio) said, “I think so.”
“I don’t know who said it, but somebody said it’s hard to hate somebody when you know their kids’ names,” he continued. “So the more you get together with people, you know, the more we can work together.
“There’s a lot of different caucuses within our conference, but the baseball team is pretty tightly managed,” Stutzman, who has a son who plays baseball in college, told The Epoch Times.
“You need to have relationships to build trust, and you need that trust to then go through the tough times,” Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) told The Epoch Times. “And this is another one of those opportunities where you’ve got people that can really bond, really develop a trust relationship.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) attended the game, receiving a standing ovation by the GOP crowd with chants of “USA, USA,” which they also chanted whenever their team scored a run. President Donald Trump did not attend as he was at the opening night of Les Miserables at the Kennedy Center.
