If you went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game not knowing the details of baseball, you would think they are going to see a good team play. The stadium is in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh and has a great river view. It’s a great place to watch the game with many food options and a great fan atmosphere. But after that, there isn’t much to cheer for. Your baseball-illiterate friend would soon find out that the Pirates are one of the worst teams in baseball. This is mostly due to Pirates ownership refusing to invest in the team.
The Nationals are now entering the most important offseason for their foreseeable future. Nationals’ first baseman Adam Dunn is set to become an unrestricted free agent. For most of his career, Dunn has been known for his amazing power (but poor strike out rate and defense). But Dunn is more than just the sum of his parts: He is a fan favorite.
D.C. sports are not at their best. The Washington Redskins are better but still not Super Bowl caliber. The Capitals have never made it to the conference championship in the Alexander Ovechkin era. The Wizards are ushering a new era with rookie John Wall, but they are also trying to manage Gilbert Arenas.
The Nationals will once again finish the year having lost more games than they won, but they have shown significant signs of improvement. The Nationals success depends deeply on the success of youngsters Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. Still, to win in baseball you need to have reliable veterans to get your lineup through slumps. The reason this signing is so important to the fans is because to most educated baseball minds, the Nationals are very close to competing in a less than stellar National League East. Re-signing Adam Dunn would help keep the Nationals a relevant team while Strasburg and Harper continue to develop.
The Nationals do play in a good TV market and have the benefit of a lucrative TV contract. However, since the team does not often win, their game attendance is low. The fans who put their heart and soul into a team are not the fans the Nationals need to be afraid to lose. They need to be worried about the fans who are casual supporters. Losing a notable player like Dunn will discourage fans from watching and spending money on the team.
The Nationals perhaps could argue that they do not have the finances to sign Dunn, but this is not true at all. When owners purchase teams, they don’t buy the team hoping to have a few bucks left over. Both the Nationals and Dunn have expressed mutual interest in getting a contract done, but both sides admit they are far apart. As of now, it looks as if Dunn will test the free agent market, where other teams can give him offers and he can ultimately decide when he has heard offers from all interested teams.
This offseason the Nationals need to prove that they want to win and expand their fan base by re-signing Dunn.
sports@theeagleonline.com
