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The schedule of the average congressional lawmaker is usually packed with meetings, hearings, television appearances and more.
However, some have June 11 circled on the calendar this year.
It is the time when any bad blood between Republicans and Democrats can go from the steps of Capitol Hill to the dirt and green grass at Nationals Park – the home of MLB’s Washington Nationals.
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Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) rounds the bases during the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity at Nationals Park on June 12, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The Congressional Baseball Game is an annual event that pits the Republican and Democratic members of the House of Representatives and the Senate against each other on the diamond. The game has been played since 1909, when the Democrats defeated the Republicans 26-16. It has been played each year since then – aside from a handful of cancellations.
The Republicans hold the series lead and are on a four-game winning streak. GOP lawmakers won last year’s game, 31-11.
The game is something Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., looks forward to each year. Schmitt is a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan and played baseball at Truman State University. Schmitt released a sizzle reel before last year’s game and ended up having a few big hits in the blowout win.
“I feel good,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital ahead of the game. “We’ve got a good team and our coach, Roger Williams, gets us out there in the mornings pretty early for practices. So we’ve been out there sort of getting your timing back, taking fly balls. But there’s no substitute. The game, being in a Major League stadium with 30,000 people there, it’s for a great cause, has been a lot of fun.
“So, I enjoy it. I was joking with one of the other outfielders last year. I was like, ‘This is what I really wanted to do with my life – be in the Major League outfield for the Cardinals’ – but I ended up in the Senate. We get to do this once a year. It’s a lot of fun.”
Schmitt said the “most important thing” is winning the game and not breaking the scoring record which Democrats set in 1928, when they scored 36 runs in the game.
One of the key aspects of the game is the charity component. Both sides of the aisle raise money for Congressional Sports for Charity, which “provides support to worthy and effective charities serving vulnerable children and families in the Washington DC area as well as scholarships to deserving local youth,” according to the game’s website.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) celebrate with Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX) during the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity at Nationals Park on June 12, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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“These charities include the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Washington Nationals Philanthropies along with the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund in gratitude to the brave officers at the Republican practice shooting on June 14, 2017,” the website said.
“My family comes in town. Our whole office is there. So, it’s a blast,” Schmitt said. “I think already this year they’re up to $2.8 million raised for local charities here. So, it’s a great cause and it’s a lot of fun and has become kind of a social thing for staff and others to go to the game. But for me, you get on that field, and you want to perform, and that’s a lot of fun.”
Presidents have been known to attend the game.
President Woodrow Wilson threw out the first pitch twice in the 1917 game as Clark Griffiths was unable to catch the ball. He also tossed the ball to a House rep in 1918. President Barack Obama attended the game in 2015, and President Joe Biden was there in 2021.
It is unclear if President Donald Trump will show up, but Schmitt was in favor of having him there.
“That’d be great. I don’t know if it’s on his calendar or not, or my friend (Vice President) JD Vance, I think it would be great to have him there,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital. “The first two years I played in the game, Biden was president. He was, you know, it’s a little different story there, but I would love to have President Trump there.
“I’ve actually gotten to play golf with President Trump. He knows a lot about sports. In fact, on Trump Force One and some of the campaign stops, we would have conversations about the greatest right-handed hitter of all time. Of course, my pick was Albert Pujols. But he knows his sports, and it’s a lot of fun kinda talking sports with him.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., delivers remarks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the expected nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Jack Gruber-USA TODAY)
Schmitt joked he did show the president a few highlights from the Congressional Baseball Game.
The teams for the Republicans and Democrats are set. Schmitt is one of four senators playing in the game.
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Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, will compete with Schmitt.
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