Congressman Teixeira? Congressman Wainwright? Why more baseball players could start running for office
On Thursday, three-time All-Star and 2009 World Series champion Mark Teixeira announced on Twitter that he was running for Congress as a Republican in Texas’ 21st district to replace Republican Representative Chip Roy. In June, it was reported that three-time All-Star, 2006 World Series champion and current FOX Sports analyst Adam Wainwright’s name was included in a poll in Missouri's second district to gauge voters’ interest in Wainwright potentially running as a Democrat against incumbent Republican Representative Ann Wagner.
Former athletes running for office is nothing new in American politics. Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Bradley, Longtime college football head coach Tommy Tuberville and former Tennessee Titan Colin Allred have all served in the House of Representatives or the Senate. But, two recently retired, high-profile baseball players like Wainwright and Teixeira being linked to congressional bids in the last few months is surprising and something worth digging deeper into.
Looking at Wainwright’s case, he never considered running and confirmed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is not currently interested in a political career and that he was never actually approached by the Missouri Democrats, saying the “time for me, if ever, is not right now.” Wainwright also did not specify to the Post-Dispatch which party he is actually affiliated with. When Wainwright’s inclusion in the poll was first reported, many around baseball were surprised that his name was floated as a potential Democratic nominee instead of as a Republican.
A high-ranking Democratic campaign official told IamTrevorMay Media that it could become more common for the Democratic party to target athletes to run as centrist candidates, like Wainwright in MO-2, in order to appeal to a wider voter base and make up ground in what would otherwise be non-competitive races.
That strategy makes a lot of sense. Who better than Wainwright, one of the most beloved St. Louis Cardinals of all time, to try and appeal to voters on both sides of the aisle in a district primarily made up of St. Louis suburbs. During Wainwright’s 18-year career, all in St. Louis, he recorded the final out of the 2006 World Series, won over 200 games, formed the most successful battery in MLB history with catcher Yadier Molina and was a staple in the local community. In 2020, he won the esteemed Roberto Clemente award for his work raising money for charities fighting against childhood hunger.
Teixeira’s candidacy is a different, but arguably more appealing route for former baseball players to take when running for office. Per his campaign announcement on Twitter, Teixeira is running to “fight for families, conservative principles, and the America First agenda.”
Sources on Capitol Hill familiar with TX-21 told IamTrevorMay Media that Teixeira is “absolutely the frontrunner” in his election just a few days after announcing his intent to run. His initial campaign announcement on Twitter has over 3 million interactions and he has already been interviewed by Fox News.
Another aspect of Teixeira’s candidacy that can not be ignored is the Congressional Baseball Game. Since 1909, the Congressional Baseball Game has been played annually between Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives. The Republicans have the edge in the all-time record, up 47-42 over the Democrats.
During Teixeira's interview with FOX News on Friday, Teixeira was asked about participating in the Congressional Baseball Game.
“President Trump loves winners, and we are going to continue to win,” Teixeira said.
Having a player like Teixeira step up to the plate at the Congressional Baseball Game, where the quality of play is lower than typical beer league softball, would be a must-watch event.
It is not a secret that a significant number of people around baseball tend to lean more conservative. If Teixeira ends up winning, as many already believe he will, it could inspire other retired players to follow his lead. Former players running in a safely red district, like TX-21, on a strong conservative platform, like Teixeira, could end up being a very viable path towards winning elections across the country.
While most fans would probably prefer to keep baseball and politics separate, that will obviously become more difficult if the trend of retired players running for office continues.
Which former players would you like to see run for office? Let us know in the comments, and Trevor May will react to the best answers during the next Mayday! on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT.