Cedric Richmond's departure from Congress will leave a gaping hole on the Democratic baseball team


The Democratic congressional baseball team will have a big hole to fill in their rotation.
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) is headed for the Biden White House, where he'll serve as a senior adviser to President-elect Joe Biden and lead the Office of Public Engagement. But Biden's gain is a loss for congressional Democrats, who will not only miss him in the House (though his seat is in deep blue territory), but also as the their side's ace in the annual congressional baseball game.
Richmond, who pitched at Morehouse College, was perhaps the only true standout in the event every year. FiveThirtyEight previously went all in on advanced metrics and discovered he had a 2.5 WAR in just eight games, well ahead of the rest of the field. On the mound, he struck out a quarter of all batters he faced and pitched to a 2.20 ERA. He was just as good at the plate, slashing .652/.758/1.087 and hitting the game's lone homer in the past 10 years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
Richmond on Tuesday downplayed his prodigious talent, joking at a press conference that he didn't need to be "Hank Aaron or Willie Mays" since he was just playing against congressional Republicans. He also cited incoming Texas Democrat, Colin Allred, a former NFL player who apparently also grew up playing baseball, as a potential replacement on the hill, and suggested he could still lend his skills as a coach. Tim O'Donnell
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Scattered Spider: who are the hackers linked to M&S and Co-op cyberattacks?
The Explainer 'Decentralised and adaptive', its mainly English-speaking members operate like an 'organised criminal network'
-
The best birdwatching spots in the UK
The Week Recommends Grab your binoculars to spot puffins, oystercatchers and chiffchaffs
-
'Making memories': the scourge of modern parenting?
In The Spotlight Meghan Markle sends her children emails of each day's 'moments' but is constant 'memory-making' just another burden for parents to bear?
-
Canada beats US in charged 4 Nations hockey final
Speed Read 'You can't take our country — and you can't take our game,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after the game
-
Eagles trounce Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX
speed read The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22
-
Indian teen is youngest world chess champion
Speed Read Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, unseated China's Ding Liren
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fans
Speed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
-
New York wins WNBA title, nearly nabs World Series
Speed Read The Yankees with face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
-
South Carolina ends perfect season with NCAA title
Speed Read The women's basketball team won a victory over superstar Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
speed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State