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Articles
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| Politics, baseball and an epic finish welcome Nationals home |
VOICE writes, "By IAN THOMS
Current Staff Writer
As fans exited the Navy Yard Metro station Sunday night, a gleaming new baseball stadium claimed their eyes, a red carpet waited, and political activists implored them to help save a program for at-risk youth and boo President George W. Bush as he threw the opening pitch.
Baseball had returned to the District, but politics never left.
Some did boo Bush, though others tried to drown the heckling with cheers. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (remember the name, he factors into this story again), the 23-year-old face of the franchise, greeted the president, whose pitch was high, hard and a little up the third base line.
Nationals manager Manny Acta served as his catcher, which was possibly a political move in and of itself. Some pointed out the potential irony of having Bush, a vocal opponent of steroid use in baseball, throwing to Paul Lo Duca, the Nationals’ new catcher who has been linked to steroid use. "
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Though the protesters wanted jeers for Bush’s policies, some fans gave a different reason to groan over his attendance: Metal detectors and Secret Service slowed the entrance at nearly every gate to a crawl. Several reported longer times waiting in line than it took them to get to the stadium at 1500 South Capitol St. SE.
“I had trouble getting in because of that knucklehead,” said a fan who declined to give his last name. “I didn’t vote for him and I didn’t invite him.”
Once Sunday’s game got going, only cheers could be heard from the 41,000-plus fans who packed the park — its name until it is auctioned off by the team’s owners. Many marveled over the sightlines, which were less than ideal at RFK Stadium, where the Nationals had played since their arrival in 2005. Almost all the reports on the new digs were positive, though many complained about long lines at concession stands, which they said caused them to miss several innings of the game.
New Nationals pitcher Odalis Perez did his job when he threw a first pitch strike as thousands of light bulbs flashed and retired the side without giving up a hit. On the next pitch, Nationals hitter Cristian Guzman delivered the first hit in the new ballpark. Nick Johnson, playing in his first regular season game since he broke his leg in September 2006, plated the stadium’s first run. Right fielder Austin Kearns added another. And the crowd could take a breath. The Nationals led 2-0.
Politics and baseball have always been linked. The cable sports network ESPN even colored its broadcast of the Nationals-Braves game with political flavor. ABC News contributor and Washington Post political columnist George Will introduced to the game by saying that politics and baseball are the nation’s two pastimes. To close the introduction, Nationals first baseman, last year’s comeback player of the year, and fan-favorite Dimitri Young said: “I’m Dimitri Young, and I approve this message.”
But do baseball fans know anything, or do they care, about local politics? Do they know what it took to bring the Nationals to the District and to build the $611 million stadium that now sits on the edge of the Anacostia River? And do they know about the ongoing battles, the concerns of neighbors expecting to be overrun by traffic, clobbered with noise and left without parking spots? Apparently, they do.
On Saturday, before an exhibition game between the Nationals and Baltimore Orioles, a who’s who of city leaders traipsed onto the freshly planted Kentucky bluegrass and used oversized scissors to cut a ceremonial ribbon. While the politicians posed and made speeches, the crowd displayed a deft knowledge of the back-story that brought the Nationals to the District.
Mayor Adrian Fenty, who opposed the deal when he was Ward 4’s D.C. Council member, received a smattering of boos, while stadium proponents Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans and former Mayor Anthony Williams were enthusiastically cheered. Williams was out of town on business, according to a spokesperson, but he did attend Sunday’s game.
Fenty has said he hopes to make the most of the new stadium. In the weeks leading up to the opener, Fenty stressed he was never opposed to baseball, but felt the city was getting a raw deal. He said it should have footed the vast majority of the bill for a new stadium, especially because of the District’s faltering public schools. He said now that the stadium is here, he will do his best to ensure it brings the promised economic boom to a part of the city that sorely needs it.
“The energy here is electric,” Fenty said Saturday. “There are few projects that can symbolize the great energy throughout this city and the enthusiasm that is going on right now in Washington, D.C.”
But baseball fans have not forgotten Fenty’s original stance. Andy Savoie, a District resident, said he followed the debate closely. He said: “I saw both sides. But I didn’t care, I’m a baseball freak.”
Maryland resident Ted Hart said he understood Fenty’s stance, but he was glad it did not prevent the franchise from moving here from Montreal.
“I say it’s time to let bygones be bygones. He was just trying to be fiscally responsible,” said Hart.
Hart’s son, Alex, who said he has added the Nationals to his list of favorite teams, noted Fenty got a better reception than the president. “A lot of people in our section booed [Bush],” he said.
Fans were also aware of the ongoing neighborhood issues created by the new stadium, such as parking, traffic and noise. They said they knew parking in the neighborhood was prohibited and they understood why.
“I think all those issues are very legitimate,” said District resident Tim Lynch. He added that he thought the city would have taken care of those issues before the stadium was finished.
The city has made parking in the neighborhoods around the stadium more difficult. On most streets only residents and short-term guests can park. The Nationals front office found just enough off-street parking for its season-ticket holders, and it is encouraging other fans to take Metro or park at RFK Stadium, where there is a free shuttle to take them to Nationals Park.
Several fans reported that the 10-minute ride on the RFK shuttle worked well.
And Metro reported that 21,492 people, more than half the seats in the sold-out stadium, arrived via the Navy Yard Metro station.
Andy Litsky, a Ward 6 advisory neighborhood commissioner, said Monday that he was glad the weekend seemed to go smoothly, but he said the real test would be the first weekday game, which will be played Monday night. “If all systems are go on Monday, we’ll breathe a little easier,” he said.
Breathing inside the stadium accelerated a little late in the game Sunday. The Nationals held a 2-1 lead for most of the game, but in the top of the ninth, the Braves tied the game on a passed ball.
With two outs, Zimmerman came to bat. Fans stood. He had done it before. Could he really do it on this night? It seemed too perfect a finish to be possible.
But it was. Zimmerman connected with a 1-0 pitch and sent it on a line toward dead center. By the narrowest of margins it squeaked over the fence. Zimmerman pumped his fist and the first crowd inside Nationals Park roared.
The night might have arrived because of politics, but it ended with a nearly unfathomable perfect finish. And that was all about baseball.
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Posted on Apr 03, 2008 08:22am.
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