Retired Sabo a Rare Breed: A Democrat With a Trophy

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Rep. Martin Sabo (Minn.) clearly loves baseball.

It’s a fact that is apparent from the moment one enters his office in the Rayburn House Office Building.

The walls are covered with pictures of the 14-term Congressman in the uniform of his beloved Minnesota Twins, proudly posing for the cameras. Then there’s the computer in his personal office, where, during a recent interview, the monitor sported the real-time status of a Twins game against the Detroit Tigers.

And there’s the fact that, for nearly two decades, Sabo has served as manager of the Democratic team in the Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game.

Until this year, anyway. Sabo, who is retiring at the conclusion of 109th Congress, decided it was best to step down from managing the Democrats immediately, preferring to spend his last game watching from the comfort of the stands at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

But Sabo — despite holding a .278 winning percentage as manager — will go out on top: He is this year’s selection for induction into the Roll Call Congressional Baseball Hall of Fame, an honor given to the select few whose dedication has made a impact on the game. One reason: Sabo is one of only two Democratic managers to retire a coveted Roll Call trophy.

“He has a strong understanding of the game and has provided steady leadership for the Democratic team. He is very deserving of Hall of Fame honors,” said Rep. Joe Baca (Calif.), the 2003 Democratic MVP. “We’re going to miss him in the dugout and on the sidelines.”

While Sabo was a constant presence at games over the years, he wasn’t overly successful when it came to clinching victories (he has a 5-13 record overall as manager).

Sabo pinpoints age as the main reason for the Democrats’ steady stream of losses. After all, the Republicans didn’t just take back the House in 1994 — they also “elected a pile of young athletes,” Sabo said.

“Maturity and experience,” the 68-year-old Sabo said, “have not paid off.”

But there’s more to Congressional baseball than winning and losing. Money raised from the game goes directly to local charities, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Washington Literacy Council.

Last year’s game, for example, raised $125,000 for various charities.

Sabo began playing in 1979, the year after he was elected to the House. He recalls that he didn’t contribute much to that first game.

“I was told I was out of shape,” he said.

But Sabo managed to get in shape, and in 1988 he managed his first game.

Sabo worked the team hard. Each year, he held several practices leading up to the game, up to three or more each week, depending on what Congress was dealing with at the time. That grueling schedule continues this year under the new manager, Rep. Mike Doyle (Pa.).

Sabo’s managerial philosophy, meanwhile, followed that of legendary manager Casey Stengel: Keep it simple, stupid.

“I never thought you should get things too complicated,” Congressional baseball’s old professor said. “Go out and play as hard as you can. Field the routine balls.”

There are a selection of games during Sabo’s lengthy tenure that stick out in his mind as being special, he said.

Of course, there is the 9-2 victory that helped the Democrats clinch a best-of-five series in 1994, allowing the team to retire the trophy (only the second the team earned, compared to the GOP’s nine).

Then there is the “tragic and exciting” game in 1996, when Reps. Tim Holden (Pa.) and William Jefferson (La.) collided. Holden broke his nose, jaw and cheekbone.

“Both were headed for the hospital. Tim had major injuries,” Sabo recalled. “Somehow, we came out and won that game.”

(The Democrats won 16-14, in fact.)

Then there was 1991, when then-Reps. Dick Swett (N.H.), Bill Richardson (N.M.) and Dave McCurdy (Okla.) led a two-out Democratic rally in the next-to-last inning. Their consecutive triples helped the team overcome a four-run deficit.

Overall, Sabo said both Democrats and Republicans alike have given fans a memorable time.

“There’s been lots of close games,” he said. “It’s been better baseball than expected.”

The game will now go on without him. Sabo said the Democrats have a good shot at victory this year.

One reason: The team is a lot younger than in games past. Youthful Democrats expected to play include 32-year-old Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio), 39-year-old Rep. Kendrick Meek (Fla.) and 43-year-old Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.).

Sabo also has confidence in his replacement, Doyle, whom Sabo personally hand-picked.

Doyle, who has played catcher since first suiting up for the Democrats in 1995, has “got a skill for the game and also a feel for the game,” Sabo told Roll Call in April.

Hopefully, Doyle and his team will do far better than the Twins did that day in May — they lost 5-3.

For his part, Sabo said he predicts good things.

“The Democrats will win,” he said.