As Rex Barney, the game announcer for the Baltimore Orioles from 1969 until his death in 1997, used to say, “Give that fan a contract!”
Barney would make the call when a fan made a great catch in the stands, but it applies to Rep. Greg Stuebe now, too, after the Florida Republican hit a home run during the annual congressional baseball game — the first time in 40 years.
And he didn’t just hit a homer, he jacked it out of the park, home to the Washington National MLB team. Take a look.
.@RepGregSteube hits "first out-of-the-park homerun in #CongressionalBaseballGame in more than 40 years … a bona fide major league homerun" pic.twitter.com/hE0uEBa1sc
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 30, 2021
The ball traveled more than 300 feet, bouncing off the front railing in front of the first row of the stands and ricocheted back onto the field. Steube played it up, taking a slow trot around the bases, where he was congratulated by Democratic fielders before being mobbed by his teammates after he stepped on home plate.
“Steube is the first lawmaker to clear the fence at Nationals Park since the game was moved there in 2008,” the New York Post reported. “Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is believed to have been the first lawmaker to hit an out-of-the-park home run in the game, doing so in 1979 at Alexandria, Va. In 1997, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) clanged a home run off the foul pole at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, Md.”
Steube was also the GOP’s starting pitcher, wearing a “Save America” hat signed by former President Donald Trump. He pitched 5 2/3 innings before moving to third base. The GOP was able to pull out a 13-12 win in the seven-inning game.
President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to the game and was there for the titanic clout. But at least one critic objected to the POTUS stop.
“The fact that Joe Biden has time to go to the Congressional baseball game but not time to take questions on Afghanistan or see the humanitarian crisis at the border is a disgrace. #DoYourJob #StrikingOut,” Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, wrote on Twitter.
Biden made the surprise appearance as he tried to save two bills stuck in Congress, glad-handing lawmakers as members of his own party who threaten to derail his agenda. Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are openly opposing his $3.5 trillion federal spending bill, while progressive members could shut down a separate $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package in a key vote on Thursday.
Manchin on Wednesday called the spending bill “fiscal insanity,” as progressive members of the so-called “Squad” in the House have been threatening to kill infrastructure.
“Respectfully, as I have said for months, I can’t support $3.5 trillion more in spending when we have already spent $5.4 trillion since last March,” Manchin said. “At some point, all of us, regardless of party must ask the simple question — how much is enough?”
Then Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a leader of the House progressive bloc, vowed that the infrastructure bill would go down in flames if it came up for a vote Thursday. “After that statement [from Manchin], we probably have even more people willing to vote no,” Jayapal told reporters.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had scheduled a vote on the legislation for Thursday, but reports are swirling inside the Beltway that she’ll pull the vote because she doesn’t have enough support.