Official Road Trip Stop #21: Nationals Park, Washington, DC

9/22/2009
Dodgers 14 @ Expos Nationals 2

After a few weeks of driving, and having to sit through some truly awful match-ups, I finally caught up with my Dodgers in Washington, DC at Nationals Park.

Nationals Park opened just last year, and has already had its share of moments. It opened with President George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch, followed by a walk-off home run from Ryan Zimmerman in the opening game. And just a few weeks later, the Pope celebrated mass at the stadium.

It's located about a mile and a half south of the Capitol building, and the Green Line on the Washington Metro lets you off steps from the park. The Nationals strongly encourage public transit, as the parking situation around the stadium wasn't very well thought out during construction.

The place is sparkling and ultra-modern. No boring bricks or green seats here. Its a fresh design, and offers views of the Capitol building in a few upper deck sections. There are some nice touches of the area, too, like in left field where they have a row of cherry trees planted. The building tries to celebrate both the Nationals, and the history of baseball in the Nation's capital.

The Nationals have one of my favorite goups of mascots in the Racing Presidents. It's a shameless direct rip-off of the Sausage Race in Milwaukee, but it has to be my second favorite. Four people dressed in costumes that are caricatures of the presidents on Mount Rushmore race from Center Field to First Base in the 4th inning. It's entertaining, and the fans seem to love it. Also, as a running gag, "Teddy" Roosevelt never wins, and is usually comically foiled as he seeks his first win. I'm not sure off the top of my head if this is a political reference or anything, but its a funny new touch to an old idea.

The stadium really is beautiful, and a really cool place to watch a game. The place could use a better team though. The Nationals are, of course, the relocated Montreal Expos, and came to Washington in 2005 with a new owner, a new stadium, and new hope. It hasn't quite worked out so far, as the Nationals are currently the worst team in Major League Baseball, or, according to manager Jim Riggleman, "not the worst team, just the team with the worst record." Either way, its bad. The Dodgers handled the Nationals easily tonight, with a 7 run inning and a 6 run inning to win 14-2.

The Nationals actually have a somewhat decent offensive line-up, but the team has almost no pitching, and the defense is pretty abysmal. A lot of the fans (and there are a few, surprisingly passionate Nats fans) are excited about the arrival of Stephen Strasburg next year, but its a lot to ask of a 21 year old to single handily save a franchise.

Nationals Park is a beautiful stadium in a cool city, with a team that may or may not have some hope in the not too distant future. The next time you're in town to protest taxes in front of the White House (even though the President ultimately has no say in tax policy) be sure to set aside a few hours and enjoy a game here.

You can see all my pictures of Nationals Park and Washington, DC here.