Retiring Sen. Richard Durbin stepped up to the plate time and again for baseball

Niels Lesniewski, CQ-Roll Call on Oct 13, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Long before Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin climbed the ranks of Democratic leadership, he took an interest in the politics of baseball.

Back in 1989, when Durbin was representing a Springfield-based district in the House, he lamented changes that were being proposed to the professional ranks of America’s national pastime, including railing against the potential switch to aluminum bats in the major leagues.

“Designated hitters, plastic grass, uniforms that look like pajamas, chicken clowns dancing on the baselines, and, of course, the most heinous sacrilege, lights in Wrigley Field,” Durbin said in a floor speech, spelling out various indignities that already befallen the game.

But it was the potential switch from wood to aluminum — an idea ultimately abandoned — that precipitated Durbin’s remarks.

“I don’t want to hear about saving trees. Any tree in America would gladly give its life for a day of glory at home plate,” the then-congressman said. “I don’t know if it will take a constitutional amendment to keep the baseball traditions alive, but if we forsake the great Americana of broken-bat singles and pine tar, we certainly will have lost our way as a nation.”

It’s far from the only issue related to baseball that the retiring Senate minority whip has engaged in over his more than four decades in Congress.

In 2019, he teamed up with fellow Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth to push for Major League Baseball to extend the use of netting designed to shield fans from foul balls.

“With more foul balls being hit at high speeds into the stands than ever before, it was imperative for MLB to address ballpark safety at the Winter Meetings,” the senators said in a statement after the league announced a plan of action. “Extending protective netting well beyond the end of each dugout will make the ballpark a safer place for fans to enjoy a game.”

Durbin later followed up on the issue, joining with MLB to announce that extended netting was coming to minor league stadiums, as well.

“We are building on the progress made over the last three years so we can also attend minor league games with our kids and grandkids without fear for their safety, no matter where we’re seated,” he said in a 2022 statement.

As Durbin nears retirement, Major League Baseball appears headed toward another work stoppage after the World Series this month, evoking memories of an earlier lockout that delayed the start of the regular 2022 season. Amid that labor dispute, Durbin at one point threatened to go after the sport’s antitrust exemption.

“After almost 100 days of the MLB lockout, it’s time to reconsider MLB’s special antitrust exemption, which allows them to act as a lawful monopoly,” he posted on social media on March 9, 2022. “Fans across America deserve better.”

MLB club owners and the players’ union reached an agreement to end the lockout the following day.