‘Somber’ mood lightens up as congressmen play ball
Spirit of unity prevails as friendly competition heats up on the field
WASHINGTON — Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico was feeling out of sorts when he arrived for his 10th Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park on Thursday night and quickly noticed that his fellow players seemed somber, too.
The tense mood at the typically playful bipartisan game was no surprise, considering Pearce and 24 other Republican members of Congress were ambushed by a gun-wielding attacker at practice in Virginia the day before. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, two U.S. Capitol police
officers and a congressional staffer were injured in the shooting.
“It’s way different than usual tonight,” Pearce said as his team warmed up on the sparkling green big league field. “It started off somber, but people are beginning to loosen up. I think we’re going to be OK, but we’ve got a lot of emotion.”
On Wednesday, Pearce was standing near the first-base dugout during the practice in Alexandria, Va., when the shooting began. After seeing Scalise shot in the hip at second base, the Vietnam veteran sought cover behind a car in a nearby parking lot.
Despite the ordeal, Congress decided the charity baseball game must go on. And after Democrats and Republicans started swinging bats and warming up on Thursday night, the smiles and jokes — as Pearce predicted — began to flow.
A 69-year-old former New Mexico State University baseball player, Pearce sported his alma mater’s jersey for the game Thursday night. He said he still loves baseball and enjoys suiting up, but he conceded that the Republican team “has a lot faster kids in the outfield these days.”
“I’m mostly just a pinch hitter,” he added with a grin.
Pearce ended up pinch-hitting in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a pop fly to the pitcher. The Democrats won the game 11-2.
The scene along the first-base line dugout, where the Republican team gathered before the game, was a who’s who of GOP political stars. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, posed for selfies with fans as the president’s daughter, Ivanka, chatted with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.
Reps. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico showed up to cheer their Democratic team on, dividing their attention between the action on the field and the social scene in the stands.
“It’s loud — which is great!” Lujan Grisham said with a laugh. “There is real solidarity here tonight. Everyone is still on edge, but the spirit of looking out for each other and standing tall together in the face of a tragedy is a wonderful thing.”
Tom Tinnin, an Albuquerque real estate developer and former New Mexico State Fair manager, was in Washington before Wednesday’s shooting and decided he had to get a ticket to the game.
“What transpired yesterday has made this a much bigger game,” Tinnin said as he waited for play to begin. “I think millions will be watching and be aware of it. Everybody is involved in this. It’s a coming-together for America, hopefully.”
But Pearce said with a chuckle, “The bipartisanship stops when the game kicks in. Hopefully, it’ll kick back in once it’s over. We’ll meet upstairs and have a good after-game get-together.”
Organizers sold more than 20,000 tickets to Thursday’s game — more than twice the expected number — and expected to raise more than $1 million for various charities.
And while the game is played for fun, Pearce said his team came to win. The Democrats’ win put them ahead 40-39-1 in the history of the series.