Underdog Democrats look to snap congressional baseball drought

Hunter Savery, CQ-Roll Call on Jun 9, 2025

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WASHINGTON — At a time when Republicans are ascendant in Washington, Democrats are looking for wins wherever they can get them, including on the baseball field at Wednesday night’s Congressional Baseball Game.

The Democrats have lost the annual charity game four years in a row, including a 31-11 blowout in 2024, but coach Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., likes the team’s chances this year.

“I think we look better than we did at this point last year,” Sánchez said after a practice Thursday morning.

They have several freshmen on the roster, including three potential sluggers: Dave Min, D-Calif., Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., and Derek Tran, D-Calif. The team has a bigger bullpen too, according to Sánchez.

“That has been our Achilles' heel. We can’t expect Pete (Aguilar, D-Calif.) to pitch all seven innings, and we haven’t had a lot of depth to the bullpen,” said Sánchez. “But you know, we have a strategy this year and we have a little more depth, so we’ll see.”

Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, was last year’s starting pitcher, but as of Thursday, Sánchez had not made any final decisions on the starting lineup.

Infielder Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., wouldn’t make any firm predictions for a win but said he’s ready: “I’m feeling good, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

While Democrats are counting on new talent, the GOP is taking a more conservative approach.

“We were good last year. We’re better this year. We’ve got the same team. And you know, we take it very seriously,” said Texas Republican Roger Williams, the team’s coach.

For Williams, a former college and minor league baseball player and former college coach, the key is continuity. The team has been working out every day that Congress has been in session since March 1.

“I’ve coached these guys to just do the basics, and they’re really good at the basics,” said Williams. “Our goal is to play good defense, and we shut them out (in 2022), if you remember. And so our goal is to play good defense and score more runs than they score.”

In a repeat of recent years, Florida Republican Greg Steube will start on the mound, according to Williams. The coach expects that August Pfluger, R-Texas, will follow as a relief pitcher, as he has in previous outings.

Differences in appearance

Fans will notice another contrast between the two squads when they hit the field Wednesday night. While the Republicans will be decked out in matching red uniforms, Democrats will once again appear as a motley crew of different outfits.

Democrats do in fact have matching jerseys, reminiscent of those worn by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the players prefer to wear their own outfits with ties to their home districts. The jerseys are mostly for photos and souvenirs.

Sánchez poked fun at the GOP’s matching outfits and disciplined practice.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I teasingly say that the Republicans are like the North Koreans. They live together, take cold showers and march around in their uniform. These guys are not that,” she said.

All for a good cause

With a history dating back more than a century, the game is now played under the bright lights of Nationals Park, as staffers, lobbyists and the public root for their chosen party from the stands. A block away from the stadium, one pregame event hosted by Power to the Patients, a group that advocates for health care price transparency, will feature a concert by ’90s alt-rockers the Gin Blossoms.

The game is played for charity. Funds raised from ticket sales and donations go to Congressional Sports for Charity, a foundation that supports nonprofits and scholarships serving children and families in the D.C. area, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the Tim Johnson Memorial Scholarship, the Washington Nationals Philanthropies and the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund in honor of the officers who served at the Republican practice shooting in 2017.

Last year, the game raised more than $2.2 million, and Williams predicts it will raise even more this year.

“We don’t want to lose sight of the fact that the game is played for charity,” he said. “It appears that we’re going to probably raise more money than we’ve ever raised before. It’s going to be a huge crowd, and I think that at the end of the day that’s what’s important.”

No political contest would be complete without disgruntled constituents, and the Congressional Baseball Game is no exception. The event was a target for protesters last year, when members of a group called Climate Defiance stormed the field. Capitol Police tackled and arrested eight protesters, and play soon resumed. And in 2022, a small group of climate activists tried to block fans from entering the stadium, while others unfurled a banner in the stands.

For his part, Williams said he doesn’t understand why protesters target the game.

“Last year, it was the environmental people. I couldn’t figure it out, because how was there anything to protest in a baseball game if you’ve got green grass?” Williams said. “So who knows what’s going to happen in this town.”