It was a routine fly ball that would have ended the inning in the annual congressional baseball game. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., who hit the pop-up, was already walking back to the dugout, according to the Scripps Howard News Service.
But Rep. Erik Paulsen, playing in left field — a position the Minnesota Republican may not be very accustomed to — could only watch in horror as the ball bounced off his mitt and hit the ground.
The Democrats scored a run thanks to Paulsen's 4th inning drop, extending their lead to 3-1 in an eventual 13-5 victory over the Republicans on Tuesday. It was one of eight errors the Republicans committed to four for the Democrats.
Rep. Keith Ellison's press secretary Micah Clemens, who was in the stands at Nationals Park where the game was held, tweeted after the error: "I'm okay with Erik Paulsen getting re-elected if he keeps fielding like that."
Paulsen, wearing a Harmon Killebrew No. 3 Twins jersey, also scored a run for the Republicans as a pinch runner. A Paulsen aide noted the congressman provided 20 percent of the Republicans' total offense.
Paulsen, to his credit, was the only Minnesotan who suited up for the game, which was a fundraiser for The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington and the Washington Literacy Council.
