Chris Christie: Actually Not Bad at Softball, All Things Considered

Chris Christie bats in the True Blue charity softball game last night at Yankee Stadium. (Associated Press Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Chris Christie played baseball as a kid. He is actually a member of the Little League Baseball Hall of Fame (more due to his notoriety, though his dad said he did hit more than 15 homers in Little League). He was the starting catcher on the Livingston High School baseball team until a transfer student came in and took his spot. (Christie’s family considered legal action but decided against it; Livingston won the state title.)

Last night, Christie played in the True Blue charity softball game at Yankee Stadium, a benefit for three recently slain New York police officers: Brian Moore, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

It is great that baseball is the national pastime, because it means politicians occasionally dress up in baseball uniforms. Baseball players kind of look silly in baseball uniforms, and non-athletes look even sillier.

Associated Press Photo | Frank Franklin II

Admit it, you could look at photos of people like Chris Christie and Rex Ryan looking silly in baseball uniforms all day. I know it was a little cold last night, but did Rex Ryan really need to wear a long-sleeve t-shirt under his jersey? He’s playing a sport! Props to Christie for going out there in short sleeves like he should. (Why do baseball uniforms have belts, anyway? The white pants with the dark shirt tucked in also make the pants look silly — everyone has a swath of blue under their pants.)

But let’s take a moment to analyze Chris Christie, the baseball player.

I talked with Jodie Eichel, who works for the Phillies and played a year of college softball at Ithaca College, to get a grasp on how good Christie’s swing was.

“It’s actually not that bad,” she says. “He has a short swing and he twisted his hips. He just didn’t hit it very hard.”

Christie flew out to left, but he was still a force in the three-inning game — a 4-3 win for his Boomer & Carton All-Stars team. NJ.com reports WFAN named Christie the game’s (apparently unofficial) MVP after the governor flashed some leather at third base.

Associated Press Photo | Frank Franklin II

NJ.com also reports someone yelled, “Chris Christie hates cops!” during a silence before the national anthem. Hey, just a bit of heckling from the crowd.

Follow @dhm on Twitter.