2020 Democrats Tim Ryan and Eric Swalwell are skipping the Congressional Baseball Game for the debates — and kind of screwing their team

Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) may have chosen the wrong kind of run.

They're both competing for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential race, with Ryan appearing in Wednesday night's NBC News debates and Swalwell making an appearance Thursday. But that also means they're skipping Wednesday's Congressional Baseball Game — and leaving the Democratic team without two of its stars, FiveThirtyEight reports.

On Wednesday night, Republican and Democratic congressmembers will compete not on Capitol Hill, but in Nationals Park in the annual Congressional Baseball Game. And just a few hours later, 10 presidential hopefuls will gather in Miami for the first round of Democratic debates, while another 10 will face off Thursday night. Those debates will feature four Congressional Baseball Game alumni, including Ryan and Swalwell, who would likely be on the field if it weren't for their more important plans.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

And as FiveThirtyEight points out in a thorough breakdown of Wednesday's game, Ryan and Swalwell's disappearances could cost the Democrats big time. Ryan's eight past Congressional Baseball Games have earned in him an outstanding .500 batting average, .560 OBP, and .636 SLG. Meanwhile, Swalwell has stolen a respectable nine bases in his past five games.

Fellow candidates Jay Inslee and Beto O'Rourke also have Congressional Baseball Game stats, but O'Rourke's .000 batting average over one game means he probably won't be missed. Still, O'Rourke has a distinct advantage over Ryan and Swalwell when it comes to 2020 polling numbers — something that probably matters a bit more in the long run. Get a preview of the Congressional Baseball Game at FiveThirtyEight.