Could the Orioles find their manager in the world of politics?

For a few wonderfully confusing hours yesterday, we existed in a world wherein the Cleveland Browns were going to interview Condoleeza Rice for their head coach. Of course, both the Browns and Rice denied the validity of this report almost before Twitter had begun to turn it into an array of memes. Rightly so that it turned out to be false, I say, for if any sport were to welcome a former top government official, it would be baseball, not football.

The link between MLB and the national government hardly needs explanation; from the POTUS throwing out the first pitch of the season to the annual Congressional baseball game, the two have forged a deep relationship. Indeed, a number of retired players have gone on to political careers of varying degrees of success, beginning with former Chicago Cubs player John Tener, who–while serving as a member of the House–instituted the Congressional baseball game. Following Tener were Walter Johnson, Fred Brown, Wilmer Mizell, and Jim Bunning who all took turns serving in Congress, with Fred Brown becoming the Comptroller General in the 1940s.

From its mythologized origins to its support of the US military, professional baseball in America has been designed to operate in congruence with the ruling class. As propaganda throughout WWII and the Cold War suggested, baseball was uniquely designed to take able-bodied young men and mold them into democratic citizens who would instill in their audience a fanatical love of country.

As the game become more diversified, this connection of Major League Baseball to politics spread internationally in ways that were previously impossible. Players like Raúl Mondesí, Bobby Ávila, and Magglio Ordóñez have all swapped their bats and gloves for campaign speeches and patriotic ties, hoping that the skills they learned on the field will bring them success off of it.

What all of this leads us to question is whether the process can work in reverse. We’ve seen many retired politicians retain close ties to MLB teams, like Bush Sr. and Jr. with their hometown Astros, but none thus far has entered the dugout. How likely is this trend to be broken? Of the managerial vacancies this offseason, only the Orioles remains, and the team is reportedly looking for a veteran candidate.

Now, of the 25 incumbent members of Congress who need a new job come January, Pete Sessions of Texas is the longest-serving, having first been elected in 2002. He’s got baseball experience as well, serving as a coach in the Congressional Baseball Game, beginning in 2008. Sure, he voted against relief aid for Hurricane Katrina victims and isn’t a fan of immigrants, but in 2016, he introduced a bill to “recognize magic as a rare and valuable art form and national treasure,” and if the 2019 Orioles are going to be anything less than a disaster, it’ll take a great belief in magic.