Washington Nationals hit it out of the park (10 highlights)

Take me out to the ballgame. I feel a rush of happiness every time I enter a big league ballpark and get a glimpse of the field. Suddenly you see the game’s best baseball players loosening up and feel the chills go up and down your spine. 

Last Friday, Aug 25 I had the good fortune to catch a game at National’s Park in Washington DC– the Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets-- on Players Weekend. The Nationals Stadium is open air. The excitement was palpable. Vendors sold baseball caps, beer and bottles of water at discount prices as you approached the stadium. A stage for rock bands near the stadium’s entrance gets the party started early. The Washington Nationals organizations does many things right. The fun atmosphere continued throughout the game.

The Players Weekend agenda included colorful uniforms for both teams. The bright sleeves on the jerseys, orange for the Mets and red for the Nats, contrasted with the more traditional blue color of the jersey. Players wearing the traditional high stocking leggings, provided a playful visual treat, brightly colored stripes in a near-psychedelic cacophony of colors. 

The Players Weekend concept was a homage to the source of all sports—childhood joy.  Printing the players’ nicknames on the backs of the shirts did this effectively. For example: “Chamo” (Adrian Sanchez), “Mikey T” (Michael Taylor), and “El Lindo” (Wilmer Difo) for the Nats, and “Jake” (Jacob deGrom) and “Chiquitín” (Asdrubal Cabrera) and “Lil D” (Travis d’Arnaud) for the Mets.

Washington Nationals Ballpark Highlights:

1)  “Rally video” on the ballpark scoreboard used the humming scene from “Wolf of Wall Street” film, featuring Leonardo Di Caprio and Matthew McConaughey. The two actors thump their chests in the hysterically funny. Before long the Nats fans were laughing, smiling and thumping chests in response. 

2) DeGrominator—it’s tough to get hits off of Jacob (“Jake”) deGrom and the Mets eventually won the game. Jake’s other nickname, “the DeGrominator”, seemed to hold forth this evening with deGrom earning 10 strikeouts against the Nats.

3)  Liked the presidential mascots race around the ballpark outfield. Appropriately enough, George Washington crossed the finish line #1.

4)  Ordered the Greek salad at the Budweiser Brewhouse, located high above centerfield. Very impressive for the quality of the food, but had trouble with the kale chopped into the salad. Kale in a Greek salad?

5)  This was a glorious night at Nationals Stadium. The intrusion of commercial messages was kept to a minimum.

6)  I actually felt the drama of a well-played ballgame, not a single error occurred. I could perceive the grace of Michael Taylor (Mikey T) playing center field for the Nats and “Jake” deGrom’s pitching power and impeccable rhythm. 

7)  I found a Washington ball cap on the ground—with the cool, scripted “W”—and it fit me. No embarrassment here, I love the free, now recycled, baseball cap.

8)  Baseball, not corporate profits, was at the heart of the Players Weekend ballgame at National’s Park. 

9)  The fans enjoyed the national pastime, inhaled the cool night air, observed the sunset along with the vision of great athletic skill performed on the greenest of lawns. 

10)  All this entertainment happened in the company of a bunch of like-minded baseball-crazy fans in the nation’s capital.

Harold Reynolds-- Baseball Commentator extraordaire

Harold Reynolds has worked this World Series (2015) as part of the Fox Sports team. He has to be the best baseball analyst events. Reynolds played second base for the Seattle Mariners and was a big league ballplayer from 1983-1994. He was born in 1960. At age 54, Reynolds has developed a comfort level with the microphone and a mature understanding of communicating with the baseball audience.

A few examples... New York Mets vs. Kansas City Royals

Game 1: Reynolds notes that Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores was proving to be a difficult out for Chris Young, the behemoth Kansas City relief pitcher. Young stands 6' 10" and looked like a dominant force. Reynolds added Flores "has great eye-hand coordination, the best on the Mets along with Daniel Murphy." He added that Chris Young "does not have the stuff to get Flores out." Sure enough Flores fouled off multiple pitches, eventually got a walk and trotted off to first base.

Game 1: Reynolds also noted the way Curtis Granderson, another Met player, deftly moved out of the way of a fastball headed right at him. "He's seeing the ball extremely well." Granderson's ability to dodge the pitch indicated to Reynolds that the batter had established a strong position in the batter's box, a nice insight to share with the viewers-- not related to any statistical data. The pitcher avoided serving up any good pitches to Granderson.

Game 2: Reynolds contrasted how the Kansas City Royals hitters have deviated from conventional baseball wisdom by going after good pitches in an aggressive manner. He explained further. The Kansas City hitters never stand passively in the batter's box and take pitches. The attempt to tire pitchers out by lifting the pitch count in not the KC style. Instead, they seek to hit the ball and knock the pitcher out of the game by superior ball contact. They certainly have done that effectively in Game 1 and Game 2 of the Series.

Reynold's grasp of what to share about the finer points of the game truly amazes. He avoids the sports cliches but doesn't not get into minutiae or belabor the statistics. Baseball has a notorious love affair with stats-- and now you can follow the pitch count, review the ball's position as it moves through the batters box, watch the spin on the pitch thanks to super slow motion technology and countless other details. Reynolds is like a breath of fresh air. He tells you what is really happening at keep moments of the game.

Moneyball, the baseball book by Michael Lewis, recounts the absolute tyranny that numbers have claimed over the game of baseball. And, of course, most of the number crunchers never could play the game of baseball beyond the Little League level but have been elevated by virtue of their mastery of big data. Reynolds played the game but does not overstate the case for his real life experience. He offers commentary with clarity and modesty. Reynolds allows the fans to absorbs insights without any showboating or ex-jock braggadocio.