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Moving from the diamond to political arena

Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, who pitched for the Cardinals from 1952-60, warms up on May 7, 1952 for the benefit of photographers. (AP Photo)

In the spirit of the season, a dive into history shows that a number of former baseball players went into politics after their careers were over. Two of the most successful in the last half century or so were pitchers and, in fact ex-pitchers, as opposed to position players, have dominated this landscape.

“Well,” said longtime Cardinals righthander and diplomat Adam Wainwright in a text, “the obvious answer is that pitchers are smarter.