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Cedric the Entertaining

Double Off the Wall One of the Longest Hits in Congressional Baseball History

Shortly after Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) was inducted into the CQ Roll Call Congressional Baseball Hall of Fame on the strength of his power at the plate, Democratic star Cedric Richmond (La.) knocked one of the longest hits in the history of the game Thursday night.

In 51 years of Congressional baseball, only two players have hit an out-of-the-park home run: Paul in 1979 and Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) in 1997. According to Roll Call’s coverage of those games, Paul’s homer cleared the left-field wall just to the right of the 310-foot sign at Four Mile Run Park in Alexandria, Va., and Shimkus’ shot hit the foul pole at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, Md. It’s 309 feet from home plate to the pole in left.

But in 1976, Paul led off the game with a double off the left-field wall at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, then home to the Orioles. Without more specifics on which part of the wall it hit, we can only provide a range on the distance of his shot. The left-field corner at Memorial Stadium was also 309 feet from home, while the wall in left-center field was 376 feet from the plate. Somewhere in there lies the actual distance of Paul’s double.

Last night, Richmond stepped up to bat in the third inning at Nationals Park and smashed a double off the wall in left field. Given where it struck the wall, we estimate the hit traveled 360 to 370 feet, making it the longest or second-longest hit in the game’s 51 years.

Oh, and Richmond also pitched a complete game as the Democrats won 18-5 and took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series that will conclude with someone owning another coveted Roll Call trophy.

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