2.) Even though I went to the Nats game before the second Phillies game, I will ask those of you who pay attention to such details to refrain from asking me questions about how I calculated the “miles driven” stat below. It’s right, just trust me.
3.) I stayed with my cousin Lisa out in Herndon, VA and navigating the bus route to get me to the Metro to get me to the game actually proved more difficult than anticipated. It turns out I was waiting on the wrong side of the street for a bus and even though I left time for DC rush hour traffic I still did not make it to the game very early. As such, I walked in just as they were playing the anthem (which was very nice by the way…I have it as 5th best on the trip for those keeping score at home) so I won’t be able to post those exciting BP photos you all love. Apologies for that but I did manage to snap quite a few other interesting shots.
Game Notes:
WELCOME TO NATIONALS PARK, WHERE THEY EVEN LET THE BATBOY FEEL INCLUDED!!
For those of you who don’t know, Nationals Park is brand new this year. Can I take a second to point out the name? Nationals Park…has a nice ring to it, no? That’s right, even in the corporate climate that pervades Washington, DC, they did not sell off the naming rights to corporate sponsorship! I was pumped. DC is the one city I’ve encountered so far though where I would have been OK with this. They were able to get away with a lot (at least in my eyes) because I’m familiar with the culture and for some reason I allowed the typical “corporate sellout” type stuff (too much luxury space, annoying hosts, etc.) a longer leash there than at other parks. By the way, a simple Google search will inform you that the Nats are currently searching for a corporate sponsor to rename the park but it's nice while it lasts, huh?
The team itself even admits they don’t quite have the necessary parking/metro infrastructure in place to handle full crowds every night and that was rather apparent. I arrived on a completely packed Metro train and immediately upon heading up to the sidewalk I was met with this:
What did I say? The folks here are a different breed, I’ll tell you what. Only in DC could a baseball game turn into a protest. These guys wanted to boo Exxon during the 7th inning stretch because Exxon sponsors it. There were about a half dozen die-hards with signs greeting fans on the way into the park. I’m upset about the gas prices too (especially now that I’ve cracked 10K miles on this trip of mine) but there’s a line I’m not ready to jump over just yet.
I got to the centerfield gate and ticket window with about 20 minutes to game time and was greeted with a harsh reality.
At almost every other park I’ve been able to just walk up to the ticket window, wait a minute or two if at all, and purchase a ticket. This was a little different in that it was a Friday night, very close to game time and this was the gate that greets fans emptying out from the Metro. Also of note is that the line to get into the park at the center field gate, albeit more swiftly moving, was about double the length of the ticket line pictured above. I don’t know where I would have been without my newly found “park savvy.” Thinking quickly, I circled the stadium and headed over to the home plate entrance. Sure enough, my instincts were right!
I walked right up to a window after taking this picture and headed into the park in time for the anthem. Who’s a genius? It’s THIS GUY!!
Something the Nationals did very well inside the stadium was facilitating movement among the fans. Like Milwaukee, Philly, and a few other stadiums, when you have the room to build it right it can make all the difference in the world. Have a look at some of these shots:
You can really see some of the expansive concourse areas provided at the park. I never felt overcrowded or like I was being herded in with all of the other cattle; it was really nice. Also, this meant Nationals Park was yet another stadium with plenty of cool standing room areas. They didn’t have quite the amount of countertops and tables the Phillies provided but the vantages were still pretty great. That also had to do with the shape of the stadium. It’s hard for me to describe but there is something very unique about the physical structure of Nationals Park. From the upper deck behind home plate the field doesn’t look that different from most others in the country, but when you walk around underneath and in the outfield of the stadium it definitely is different. Some of that is the wide open spaces and some of that is, how do you say, je ne sais pas?
Let’s do food next, who doesn’t like food, right?
Again, not to repeat myself but I’m definitely back on the east coast. I have yet to make it to New York or Boston but the Nationals have the highest food prices in the country. $4.50 for a hot dog, $7.00 for a sausage, $6.00 for a pretzel in the shape of a cursive W?! Everything seemed to be at least .50 higher than at other parks.
The beer was rather intriguing though. So, I know I’ve ranted a bunch about people paying more and getting less for canned or bottled beer. Well, I can’t be 100% certain but I think the Nationals are the first team to charge the same amount for a beer whether it came from a draught or in a bottle (16oz of each). Also, their “premium” drafts (i.e. Amstel Light, Heineken, Sam, etc.) cost the same amount as Miller or Bud products!! That is DEFINITELY a first and I can’t imagine it will be long before they change those prices. Either way, everything was $7.50 for 16oz and that’s pretty high for the light stuff but actually a decent deal for the darker beers.
Pat and Diana told me about Ben’s Chili Bowl and it’s a good thing they did because I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this gem:
This was called the “Ben’s all the way” and actually was nowhere near as bad as it looks. If I hadn’t got the heads up I probably would have skipped it but I guess Ben’s is local and famous so, according to my rules, I had to try it. This was very comparable in ingredients to the thing I had in Cincinnati (chili, onions, cheese, hot dog and mustard) but the Nationals version, or more correctly, Ben’s version, was WAY better. Even though it tasted good I’m getting pretty tired of the baseball food group. How about a “Washington’s Apple” or some “Lincoln’s Lettuce” fercryinoutloud?!
I have to share just a couple of other notes about the fare at Nationals Park. Most of the concession stands played up the DC theme with names like “Senators Sausages” and “Capitol Candy.” At every park there usually is one place to get mixed drinks. The Nationals have at least FOUR and drink prices reached up to $13.00. I’m not sure what that means exactly, but it’s worth mentioning. The beer and food vendors walking around the stands could not have been more disinterested in their jobs. They were meek, barely audible and did not even wear price buttons so you didn’t know if you were getting the screw job or not. I certainly did not give them any of my business. Finally, they had this in San Fran too and I really cannot believe a sign like this is warranted anywhere, in any situation. Note the background though…points for spicy mustard!!
Before we get to the high and low points of the stadium we need to talk about the luxury space. I’ve got three separate notes about it being far too much and I think, in the end, it was. Take a look at this picture:
First, you should notice the cursive “W” in the outfield grass. That’s really impressive no matter who you are. Dad saw this on TV and told me to check it out. Most teams haven’t been doing too much with their lawn designs but the Nationals took it to a new level. No block letters for our nation's capitol, this is the big leagues! More important though is comparing the seating area directly behind home plate to its surrounding areas. You can see maybe 50% empty blue seats behind the plate and otherwise the stadium is pretty full, right? I guess this has been an area of controversy in DC lately. The amount of luxury space in the stadium is just absurd but you’d think with all the politicians, law firms, lobbyists, etc. the city would be able to support it but many games look like this one or worse (and this was a Friday night!). I bet they can support it and that those seats may even have been paid for, but when you don’t put a winning product on the field nobody “important” is going to show up and that's really too bad for baseball. For virtually every pitch of the game this is what viewers on TV are going to see. They’ll be looking at seats that are 50% full and that’s not going to make anyone want to come to the game. I wasn't as bothered in DC as I've been elsewhere about the amount of luxury space in the stadium, it was the fact that nobody USED those seats that really pissed me off.
High Points:
-The ushers all around Nationals Park went out of their way to be friendly and helpful and I was allowed to take pictures from wherever I wanted. They’re right up there with the top ushers in the country. One guy even left his post to offer to take my picture when he saw me snapping away. Here’s me. GO CELTICS!!!
-I definitely covered this above but the amount of space around the park really opened things up and lead to a positive experience. Also, there was a whole area dedicated to video games at the park. There had to be 30 machines and they were all free to play. I didn’t end up playing but it looked like a good time for the kids who were.
-In the lower seating bowl there were more TVs than at any other park. San Diego also had the flat screens but nothing like what Washington provided for fans. From any seat angle in the lower deck you had a TV to look at.
-Arizona is another one that stands out in my mind but I think the Nationals have taken over as “best video board” in the country. Look at how much information is on here in terms of statistics. Plus, the video portion is in HD and it’s huge. Also, very few areas of the park cannot see the board which is always a concern as well.
-There is a bar in left center field called the “Red Porch.” I didn’t hang out very long there but it’s a great place to catch the game. Pretty much every stadium has a pub or bar to order drinks and watch the game but what made the Nationals version unique was its location. It has seating areas below but the actual bar is set high enough that when you’re standing in line to order a drink you can turn around and still watch the game. Usually these bars are set back behind the seating areas or down with the concessions and you can only see the game on TV. This bar was under an overhang but otherwise you had an unobstructed view of the action. Good place to catch the game.
-The “President’s Race” the Nationals had was pretty sweet. Instead of using typical condiments, participants were dressed up in the oversized heads of former presidents.
Abe Lincoln won when I was there but it was a handicapped event in that Teddy Roosevelt never stepped foot on the field! Instead, poor Teddy was shown in a video montage during the race being…let’s say… “distracted”
Low Points:
-The prices at Nationals Park were a thorn in my side the entire night. I know things generally were only about .50 more but that just seemed magnified when you consider how high the prices are in the first place.
-I mentioned this briefly but the Nationals have a host. This wasn’t an egregious offense like it is in the other stadiums because, for some reason, I almost expected it in DC what with the prevailing “corporate” atmosphere found all over the park.
-The Nationals were selling a foam claw hand like the Tigers do. First, the Tigers version is way more scary, it has all five digits and it actually makes sense because their mascot is…a TIGER! I have no idea why the Nationals were doing this or why it had 3 fingers/claws and it absolutely was a low point of the stadium.
-The Nats know this, but they really need to fix the transportation issues.
-The fan distribution (other than the luxury boxes behind home plate) reminded me of being back in LA. Fans showed up incredibly late (2nd-3rd) inning and left by the 7th-8th. I will admit though, yours truly didn’t stick it out for all 14 innings…I had a bus to catch back to VA before they shut down for the night!
Overall Grade: B
Game Stats:
Teams: Nationals vs. Rangers
Final Score: 4-3 Nationals
Extra Innings: 5
WP: Joel Hanrahan
LP: Jamey Wright
Time: 4:10
Announced Attendance: 30,359
Ticket Price: $18.00
Parking Price: N/A
Trip Stats:
Home team record: 19-8
Best Anthem: Tropicana Field
Miles Driven: 10193
States Visited: 25
Countries Visited: 2
Districts of Columbia Visited: 1
Beds slept in: 30
Highest Gas PPG: $4.19 [$4.81 if you count Canada]
Next Stop: New York Mets
Favorite Park: Petco Park (Padres)
Stadium Grades:
Marlins: D
Rays: B
Braves: B-
Rockies: B+
Mariners: B
Giants: A-
Athletics: C
Angels: B-
Dodgers: B+
Padres: A
Diamondbacks: B
Rangers: B-
Astros: B-
Blue Jays: C
Tigers: A-
Indians: B-
Reds: B+
Cardinals: B
Royals: B
Twins: B-
Brewers: A-
White Sox: B
Cubs: B+
Pirates: C+
Orioles: B
Phillies: A-
Nationals: B
1 comment:
having survived my own respective trip to new york (including a return train trip with a 5 year old polish girl with a penchant for singing loudly), i decided to check out your blog. impressive set up! the marlins should be ashamed of themselves. hope that yankee stadium was enjoyable, red sox nation pride aside.
-erin from the train to new york
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