Can Baseball Bring Congress & The Country Together Again?

I caught some of the Congressional Baseball Game on C-SPAN earlier this evening.

The Democrats beat the Republicans 11-2 with Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond pitching all 7 innings and hitting a triple to boot. It is fitting that Richmond was the star of the game given his close relationship with his fellow Louisianan, the wounded Congressman Steve Scalise.

It is worth remembering that when Scalise came under fire from the Obama White House in late 2014, early 2015 for unwittingly speaking at an event hosted by a white supremacist group, it was Richmond who rushed to Scalise's defense and probably saved his political career as a result.

Despite the Democrats' decisive win they donated their trophy to Scalise and it will sit in his office ready to greet him upon his recovery. A very classy move indeed.

I cannot help but wonder if there would have been this much goodwill if it weren't for baseball. The fact that this horror occurred on a baseball field brought it home in a way that it might not have if the attack had occurred at Capitol Hill or in his constituency. Nearly every American has played baseball at least once in their life, has held a bat or worn a glove on their hand. In essence, everyone has walked in Steve Scalise's shoes and what happened to Scalise could have happened to anyone of us.

Of course, there will be disagreements in Congress and in the country. But nobody should have to die because of them. In baseball, there is a winning and losing team. But everybody comes back to play another day.

Perhaps Steve Scalise will come back and play another day. If nothing else, let's hope he throws out the first pitch at next year's Congressional Baseball Game. This would be a good opportunity for both Congress and the country to come together.