Category:Politicians

From BR Bullpen

Over the years, many politicians have been involved in baseball, and many baseball players who have been involved in politics.

• Former major leaguers Fred Brown, Jim Bunning, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Pi Schwert, and John Tener have served in the United States Congress. Executives Morgan Bulkeley, Happy Chandler, and Jacob Ruppert have also served. Several other players, including Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, have been unsuccessful candidates.

• On a state level, several baseball players have been elected governor of a state, including Brown and Tener. Minor league outfielder Mario Cuomo went on to be governor of New York.

• President George W. Bush was a former owner of the Texas Rangers, and Ronald Reagan was a Chicago Cubs radio broadcaster for a time, as well as an actor in a baseball movie.

• Latin American dictators from both the left and right have been actively involved in baseball. Anastasio Somoza briefly managed the Nicaraguan national team, Rafael Trujillo lured Negro League stars to the Dominican League to boost the level of play and Fidel Castro was in the forefront of Cuban baseball publicity for decades.