U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-FL-17) on Wednesday hit a rare, out-of-the-park home run during the annual Congressional Baseball Game.
The contest, which was played at the home of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Washington Nationals, allowed lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle to compete in the game.
In the bottom of the third inning, Steube, who wore a red, “Save America” hat autographed by former President Donald Trump, launched a pitch from Representative Pete Aguilar (D-CA-31) straight to left field.
The blast by Steube cleared the wall of the MLB-size ballpark and allowed the congressman to stroll around the bases.
“Well, all the glory goes to God. That’s why I was pointing my finger up. I just like the fact that I did it while the entire stadium and everybody in my own dugout was paying attention to President Biden because he was in the Republican dugout at the time,” Steube told “Fox and Friends.”
.@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
“Not a single person was watching the field until they heard that hit. I distracted everybody from looking at Biden to looking at the field and suddenly all the members of the Republicans came out to greet me on the plate and Biden was standing by himself in our dugout. I thought that was great,” Steube added.
According to The New York Post, “Steube is the first lawmaker to clear the fence at Nationals Park since the game was moved there in 2008. 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.”
In the end, Steube and the GOP lawmakers defeated Democrats by a score of 13-12.
— — —
Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].