Tag Archives: Washington DC

Nationals Park, Washington DC

Exterior panorama of Nationals Park in 2008. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)
  • First visit: Sunday June 8th 2008
  • Most recent visit: Sunday May 20 2018

After moving from Montreal following the 2004 season, the newly minted Washington Nationals (known locally as the Nats) played their first three seasons in RFK Stadium. During that time, its replacement, Nationals Park (known locally as Nats Park), was constructed on the southeast Anacostia River waterfront, not far from the Navy Yard section of Washington DC. An ambitious construction schedule projected completion in time for the start of the 2008 baseball season, a mere 23 months after groundbreaking in May of 2006. Fortunately, weather and other circumstances were kind to the project, and Nats Park opened as scheduled in late March 2008.

Our first visit to Nats Park occurred on Sunday June 8th as the hometown Nats hosted the San Francisco Giants at 115 pm. From central NJ, the drive took about three hours, and we didn’t have much difficulty finding the stadium, after driving around DC first. Sunday morning traffic was light, so the detour did not cause any problems arriving at the park with time to spare before the first pitch. Not knowing much about the park (as it was still fairly new), we were not presented with a multitude of parking options. Finally, we parked on the site of an old foundry down the street from the stadium. During our drive through that section of DC, it was evident that just a couple of blocks north of the park, the neighborhood changed fairly drastically. This was something we would verify on subsequent trips to Nats Park.

A panorama of Nationals Park from the upper deck behind home plate in 2008. Note the dome of the US Capitol visible behind the left field fence. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

As is our custom, we walked around the perimeter of the stadium prior to entering the ballpark. Nats Park was built on the banks of the Anacostia River, which lies beyond the first base side of the ballpark. A walking trail along the river provided excellent views of the river and the boat traffic. Due to time constraints, we did not spend much time on the banks of the Anacostia, but with what little we did see, I made a mental note to visit this spot the next time we were there.

The destroyer USS Barry docked in the Washington Navy Yard on the Anacostia River, just outside Nationals Park (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

As we rounded the right field section of the park, we saw the DC Metro station serving Nats Park. It was a short walk from the stadium, and seemingly most of the fans were arriving via the train. To this point, most of the parks we had visited did NOT have easy access to subway or rail lines (outside of the New York City, of course). Having easy access to mass transit seems to be the key to a better fan experience, and we were pleased to see that DC planned well. Once we completed our tour of the outside of the park, we entered through the home plate entrance. Being in DC, we expected security to be thorough, but it was my opinion that the security at Nats Park was aggressive, rude and surly. Because of that, getting through the security checkpoints has always been the biggest downside of seeing games there.

A view of the US Capitol from outside Nationals Park. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Strolling along the lower concourse of Nats Park, we stadium was vaguely reminiscent of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, which opened four years earlier. Each stadium as three (or four, in left field of Nats Park) tiers of seats, as well as bleacher seats near centerfield. Both parks are open in the outfield, though the view of centerfield here is MUCH nicer than Citizens Bank Park. Rather than a large videoboard in left field (as is the case in Philadelphia), the large videoboard here is in right field, though it is smaller in DC. Both ballparks have an out of town scoreboard/auxiliary videoboard running the length of the right field wall. Though it was still very early in the visit, I thought that while the views from Nats Park were FAR better than those of the Phillies home, Citizens Bank Park had an edge with respect to the interior of the park.

One of the earliest comments we had heard about Nats Park was the height of the press level. Listening to Mets broadcasters describe the TV broadcast booth as the highest they had ever seen, I was curious to see what was so different about this park. As we walked out into centerfield, we found that the press levels is indeed at the top of the stadium behind home plate. We did not appreciate the height until we climbed up to near that level to get pictures for a panorama. While not as high as some of the seats of the multipurpose monsters of the 1960s and 1970s, it was surprising that the press level was that far away from the action.

The press level at Nationals Park, sitting nearly atop the stadium, outlined in red. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Though the seating capacity of Nats Park is listed at 41,000+, the three tiers of seats (as well as the bleachers in the outfield) made the park seem somehow bigger. In my opinion, the size of the ballpark detracted from the intimacy of the stadium, which has become a hallmark of the “newer” MLB parks built during the 2000s/2010s. Like most of the newer parks, Nats Park featured a large array of restaurants and bars, as well as a very nice lounge area in the 200 section behind home plate. Since my tastes at the ballpark are more traditional, I did not indulge in any of the specialty eateries, relying on the more standard fare available from the concession stands.

A panorama of Nationals Park from centerfield, providing a good look at most of the seats in the ballpark. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Once we found our seats in the upper deck behind home plate (one of our favored seating locations), we discovered we could see the dome of the Capitol (an unexpected treat). Though the weather was sunny with light winds for our game, it is not hard to imagine that strong or gusty winds in the upper deck could detract from the experience, especially near the top of the stadium in cold weather. Nats Park offers great sight lines from just about all seats, and fans are much closer to the action than the old multipurpose stadiums. While not quite as intimate as Camden Yards just up Interstate 95, Nats Park provides a great place to see a game nestled within the DC city limits.

More impressed with the ballpark than I expected, the game that occurred that afternoon was almost an afterthought. Behind a strong outing by the Giants’ left hander Barry Zito, San Francisco bested the hometown Nats 6-3. Perhaps my best memory of the game was the President’s Race. Its origins reach back to RFK Stadium in 2006, as people dressed in president’s costumes engage in a foot race around the warning track, starting at a gate in centerfield and ending just before the 1st base dugout. In total, seven presidents have run in the race, which occurs in the fourth inning of each home game. There have been some bizarre endings to the race, but none more interesting than when the Easter Bunny leapt out of the crowd, disrupting the race and allowing William Taft to win.

Our view of the President’s Race on a Sunday afternoon, when the presidents wear their “Sunday Best” and run the race down the left field warning track. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Having a long drive home after the game, we did not take much time to further examine the ballpark. However, on the way out along the upper level concourse, we did catch glimpses of two of DC’s famous landmarks. Both the US Capitol and the Washington Memorial were clearly visible, and despite traveling across the United States a fair amount, this was my first actual look at both (though from a distance).

Views of the Washington Monument (left) and the dome of the US Capitol (right) from the upper level of Nationals Park. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Living far enough away from DC to make the trip an all day affair, we did not visit Nats Park again until 2013, when I moved to Maryland, just a few miles away from the park. Living less than a mile from the Green Line of the Washington Metro, I quickly discovered that taking the train to the ballpark was cheaper (as parking near the park could cost in excess of $40) and easier than driving. In a surprise to me, the Washington Metro service stops running at 1130 PM. That relatively early shutdown time meant that if Nats games went into extra innings, you had to consider when you would leave the game. A miscalculation could easily result in a taxi or Uber fare of $60 or more.

Since the train ride to Nats Park was only about 20 minutes, it became my preferred location to see our favorite team, the New York Mets. Most of the games we have seen at the ballpark have been against the Mets, and as my brother reminded me, we saw plenty of games with the Mets on the losing end. Unfortunately for us, the Nats were better the Mets most years. In fact, we had the misfortune to see Bryce Harper hit a walk off home run in the 13th inning on a Thursday afternoon in August of 2014. Perhaps the most memorable game (for very bad reasons) we have seen at Nats park was April 30th, 2017.

Mets starter Noah Syndergaard (left) tore his lat muscle and wound up missing most of the remainder of the season. As the game got out of hand in the late innings, New York sent backup catcher Kevin Plawecki to the mound. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

The Nats lineup scored five runs off Mets starter Noah Syndergaard in the first inning, and his fastball was uncharacteristically flat. After facing one batter in the second inning, Syndergaard exited the game. It was clear from the expression of concern by Syndergaard and the Mets coaching staff that the injury was serious, and he ended up missing much of the remainder of the season with a torn lat muscle.

After the departure of the Mets starter, the Nats packed lineup feasted on the New York bullpen. Things got so bad for the Mets that they sent backup catcher Kevin Plawecki to the mound in the eight inning. Though he did give up a few runs, his pitching performance that afternoon was not much worse than the rest of the New York pitching staff. The Mets went down quietly in the top of the ninth, mercifully ending a 23-5 romp. In the game, the Nats Anthony Rendon went 5 for 5 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Though the defeat smarted, the loss of the fireballing Syndergaard was something from which the Mets could not recover.

My scorecard of the carnage at Nationals Park on April 30th, 2017.

Nationals Park has grown on me over the years. Once I moved to Maryland, and the park was a mere short train ride away, we visited at least a couple of time a year. However, my love for the minor leagues cut down on the number of trips to Nats Park through the 2010s, as the minor league experience is much more intimate than the MLB experience. If you plan to see a game at Nats Park, I would recommend taking mass transit, since parking is expensive, and the getaway after the game could take a considerable amount of time, especially following an afternoon game during the week.

Washington DC, Sunday September 25 2005

Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington DC. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

We added one more baseball trip to the end of the 2005 season. For years, the Montreal Expos, a team owned by MLB, threatened to leave the Canadian city. The franchise never recovered from the baseball strike in 1994, when they were arguably the best team in the game. Since that time, attendance dwindled, and their home park, Olympic Stadium, had fallen into disrepair (which we saw for ourselves in 2001).

Finally, the franchise moved to Washington, DC, for the 2005 season. At the time, DC did not have a baseball only stadium ready for the newly renamed Nationals (ground won’t be broken on Nationals Park until 2006). In the interim, the Nationals were slated to play their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium (informally known as RFK). Once the home of the MLB Washington Senators and the NFL Washington Redskins, RFK was the home of the local MLS franchise, but hadn’t hosted NFL or MLB games for some time.

RFK Stadium from the parking lot. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

As result, it had also fallen into a degree of disrepair. Still, MLB was keen to move the franchise, and the Nationals would play their games at RFK. Since the ballpark was only about a four hour drive from central NJ, we decided to make the visit a day trip. The drive was uneventful, outside of the traffic that one encounters in the DC area. Arriving at the ballpark about the time the games opened, we quickly became aware that RFK Stadium was not in one of the finer neighborhoods of DC, so we did not wander far from the ballpark.

Parking as ample, and arriving well before the first pitch, we had our choice of spots. A quick walk around the ballpark showed an aging multi purpose stadium that was enjoying something of a renaissance with the return of MLB action. It was clear that the park had seen better days, and from the perspective of the rebranded franchise, it was a just a place to play until their own park debuted in 2008.

Welcome to RFK Stadium. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Once inside, we got an idea of how long it had been since the stadium had been used extensively. Walking through the home plate gate, there were coaxial and Internet cables literally stapled to the concrete walls. Since the Nationals were only temporary tenants, it was clear that little in the way of infrastructure changes were forthcoming. Walking around RFK on the lower concourse, we were reminded of other multi purpose stadiums constructed during the same time frame (such as Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia or Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh).

Despite that, RFK seemed to have more in the way of character than the other coliseums from that time period. Unlike the other stadiums of that period, RFK seemed cozier (with a seating capacity just shy of 46,000), and sported a grass field. Like most stadiums from the 1960s, RFK was enclosed, giving it a retro feel when compared to the “newer” MLB ballparks.

The view from our seats. (Photo credits: Jeff Hayes)

Though there were not as many amenities as other ballparks, we managed to find a baseball lunch at one of the many concession stands and headed off to find our seats. Sunshine began to filter through the thick clouds (which prompted stadium officials to turn on the lights), and temperatures rebounded into the 70s, setting the stage for comfortable conditions for watching a ball game at the aging RFK Stadium.

With the season winding toward the end, and both the Mets and Nationals out of playoff contention, my attention turned to the Mets catcher Mike Piazza. Once among the most feared hitters in the game, age and nagging injuries resulted in a subpar campaign for the slugger. In the last year of his contract, it was unlikely that the Mets would try to resign him, so this game marked the last time we would see Piazza in a Met uniform in person.

Mike Piazza in one of his final at bats as a New York Met. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Despite having nothing to play for in this game, most of the regulars were in the lineup for both teams. Starting for the Mets was right hander Kris Benson, who was completing an unspectacular 2006 campaign, his last in a Met uniform. For the hometown Nationals, the starter was right hander John Patterson, completing his season with a respectable 3.13 ERA.

Our seats, in the middle deck to the right of home plate, gave us a great view of the stadium. Soaking in the environment, RFK seemed like an anachronism, with earth tones colors reminiscent of the 1960s. Noticeably absent from the park was a large screen video board. Built long before such technology existed, the ballpark seemed almost naked without it. Reminding me of my younger days as a baseball, I found that I didn’t miss it.

RFK’s version of a large screen video board. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Even with the clouds and threat of rain, there was a good crowd on hand for the Sunday matinee, with an announced attendance of over 29,000. It was obvious early that neither starting pitcher had his best stuff, as the Nationals and Mets traded runs through the first four innings. The scoring included a long solo home run to left field in the second inning by Mike Piazza, flashing some of the power from his heyday.

Piazza followed up his home run in the second inning with another solo home run in the fourth inning. It was almost as though he sensed the end was coming, and was rising to the occasion with a vintage Piazza power display. The teams traded runs throughout the middle innings, slowing the pace of the game to a crawl at times, as the teams made seven pitching changes.

One of the many mound visits that slowed the pace of the game. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

During the down time, I took an opportunity to further examine the stadium. The outfield grass showed signs of wear, a victim of the hot and often dry DC summers, obviously neglected as the season reached its end. Though it was a relic, it reminded me of the ball games played in the “cookie cutter” ballparks I watched on TV as a kid, so there was a familiar vibe within RFK.

Hoping we would see a third home run from Mike Piazza, we were instead treated to a massive home run to deep right field by the young Mets first baseman Mike Jacobson in the eight inning. Initially, we thought the ball might clear the roof and completely exit the ballpark. Instead, it bounced off the roof and careened back onto the field. The home run gave the Mets a 6-5 lead, which the bullpen protected for a victory for New York.

Filing out of RFK following the game, I reflected on our visit. Though it was fun seeing a game in a throwback ballpark with its roots in the 1960s, there was little reason to return. Our next baseball visit to DC would be to see the new ballpark, which was more than two and one-half years in the future.