Boys of Summer: Dems win, celebrate
Posted: Thursday, June 18, 2009 2:22 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Congress, Mike Viqueira
From NBC’s Mike Viqueira
Anybody out there in the market for cheap metaphors or metaphysical omens, let it be known that for the first time since 2000, Democrats defeated Republicans in the annual Roll Call baseball game last night.
The score was 15-10. This afternoon on the House floor, the manager for the victorious Democrats, Rep. Mike Doyle, brandished the sizable trophy.
"They played like Republicans," said a good-natured Rep. Joe Barton, who was at the helm of the losing Republican squad.
There was much hooting and mirth.
The game was played down the street at Nationals Park (only a slight drop off in the usual quality of play to be found there), and benefited the Washington area Boys and Girls Clubs and the Washington Literacy Council.
One other thing, the Republican staff ace in recent years has been Sen. John Ensign. He did not play last night.
NBC’s Katelin Schartz was there and had this game recap:
The Dems took an early lead in the bottom of the third, scoring six runs. But the Republicans quickly countered back with six runs of their own in the top half of the fourth.
The Dems tacked on nine more runs in the next half and held the lead -- despite a few more runs put up by the Republicans.
There were several missed catches and some short-ended throws, but there wasn’t much else that happened outside of those two innings.
The players kept it civil and were good sports, but partisanship reigned in the crowd and was distinctly divided. Dems were along the third baseline (the left – if you will), and Republicans were along the first baseline (the right).
