With one pitch, 34 years of longing, desperation and long rides to Baltimore were erased. Baseball is back in the District, in its third incarnation, and from the excitement of the crowd, these Nationals are here to stay.
All in all it was a spectacle to behold. A sellout crowd of 45,000 people, nine old Senators (of baseball fame) and one president (who was cheered more than booed, despite D.C.'s liberal tendencies) made for one of the most raucous baseball crowds in years. At one point during the game, the crowd was so excited that, taking a cue from Duke University's "Cameron Crazies," they were hopping up and down behind the Nationals dugout. It was obvious that these Washingtonians were ready for baseball.
It seemed like the Nationals were ready too. With all the hoopla going on before the game, including President Bush throwing the ceremonial first pitch, and the presentation of nine players from D.C.'s first baseball team, the Senators, taking the field first, then being relieved by the new team's starting nine, an actual baseball game did take place and did not disappoint. Nationals' ace pitcher Livan Hernandez took a one-hitter into the ninth inning, but he ran of gas and couldn't close the deal, giving up a three-run home run.
However, the Nationals had plenty of firepower behind third baseman Vinny Castilla, who hit a double, triple and home run to lead the Nats to a 5-3 victory. The win gave the Nationals sole possession of first place in the National League East when they left the stadium, a position they maintain as of press time.
But not everything went smoothly. The concessions lines were incredibly long, causing fans to miss an inning and a half to buy a $4 hot dog and $3.50 soda. In addition, in one upper-level section, merchandise stand lines were more than an hour long, according to former SC President Polson Kanneth, who attended the game. Kanneth also reported that one concession stand ran out of hot dog buns in the second inning.
"RFK Stadium was not ready to handle all those people right now," Kanneth said.
The wait could have been made more palatable for eager fans if the game had been broadcast on the televisions present throughout RFK. Yet the only thing those televisions showed was the players stepping up to the plate, not actually at bat. Thus while waiting in line people had to listen to the crowd to judge what was happening on the field.
One fan, still mad about the way the Orioles have handled the D.C. move, blamed the difficulties on the Baltimore team's owner Peter Angelos, who owns the biggest share of the joint Nationals-Orioles television network, and controlled what was shown on the televisions. Additionally, the scoreboards went out for about half of the game, leaving fans behind the JumboTron squinting to find out how many hits, runs and errors the two sides had.
The fans are going to have to get used to cheering on their newly beloved Nationals. They'll need to figure out their favorite players, their chants, how to wear their rally caps and how to do the wave. But for now they were just happy to be a part of history. As Pete Marchant, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs said, "It's opening day for them too."
Overall these are small problems that can be fixed over the course of the next 80 games. The big problem, not having a team in the District, has already been solved. When a new owner with deep pockets buys the team, and the club moves into their new stadium in Southeast in 2008, things can only get better. Although this season may be a tough one, with divisional foes all with good teams, one thing that is certain after Thursday's game. The Nationals future is as bright as the lights at RFK.
