Despite having gone to DC almost a dozen times, I never made it to Nationals Park. So this summer, since I was traveling to Baltimore a lot for work, I planned a trip to visit a game in DC.
But oddly enough, out of the 27 weekends of the baseball season, the Orioles and Nationals only played at home on the same weekend once—in early April. The MLB needs to do a better job of having a few weekends where baseball fans can visit several parks on one trip—like we did in Southern California the year before.
Anyway, I flew into DC a few days before I had to be at work in Baltimore and got tickets to a Sunday afternoon game against the Phillies. Well—I thought it was going to be a day game, but two weeks before my trip, ESPN picked the game up for Sunday Night Baseball.
It was my first time seeing Sunday Night Baseball live, so that was exciting. But I had to be in Baltimore by 8 AM the next morning. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a marathon game.
It was in the upper 90s that day, so I’m glad they moved the game to 8 PM. During the day, I tried to explore the National Mall a bit, but it was too hot and sticky. So I made my way toward my favorite museum—the Newseum. But the block outside the Newseum was taken up by a national barbecue festival. The line was absurd to get in, so I gave up and enjoyed the air conditioning in my hotel.
Bardo Brewing
Since I had time to kill, I took a Lyft down to the Navy Yard near Nationals Park and went to a place called Bardo Brewing. If I hadn’t read about it, I would’ve easily missed it. It’s in an old industrial yard next door to the stadium. And the entire brewery is outdoors—even the brew kettles. I don’t know how that works, but it was great. You could bask in the sun, or hide under the shade along the river.
There was even a section of seating underneath a bridge, so it made me feel like I was tailgating at PNC Park. I got a nice sour beer from there, but then the bugs started to get bad so I made my way to the other side of the stadium and went to Blue Jacket Brewery. This one was indoors and air conditioned, so it was jam-packed. I enjoyed a beer or two there before finally heading into the stadium.
The riverside seating at Bardo Brewing
When you enter the park in the main outfield gate, you are greeted by the racing presidents. They’re fun to watch as they race, but they’re a little creepy up close. I had seats in the club level, so after taking a lap around the lower level, I made my way up there.
The club contains murals of former Washington baseball teams, and I learned that Washington shared a Negro League team with Pittsburgh (the Washington/Homestead Grays) at one point. There was also a good bit of history about the former Senators team.
I took my seat before first pitch, and I had the entire row to myself. Except, there was an obnoxious Philly fan behind me, and a random Cubs fan in front of me.
My dream of seeing a no-hitter was dashed in the very first inning, as both teams got one hit to start the game.
The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in 3rd. The skies looked ominous as a storm was approaching, but I knew that the Presidents Race was coming up in the middle of the 4th.
It had just started to drizzle a bit when Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln started the race. Hapless Teddy Roosevelt was nowhere to be found—until the other three rounded the corner. Since this was during the World Cup, Roosevelt made a dirty slide tackle against Lincoln and a referee gave him a Yellow Card. Lincoln got a free kick and hit a soccer ball over the finish line for the win. It was everything I had hoped for.
The Presidents seemed to wake up the Nationals team as well, because the next batter, Anthony Rendon, hit a home run to help the Nats tie things up. The fans came alive and there were even some dueling chants going between the Philly fans who made the trip.
But the Phillies broke the game open in the top of the 5th and took a 6-2 lead. Then, the skies also broke open. And it started pouring. They pulled the tarp out over the field, and by this time it was already 10:15 PM. I had to be up at 6 to catch a train to Baltimore.
I figured the Phillies had this in hand, so I headed for the exit and took the metro back to my hotel.
When I woke up the next morning, I saw that the Nationals came back and won 8-6—and the game ended at 1 AM. I really hate Eastern Time Zone sporting events.
Nationals Park marked my 22nd park. This would be my last new park before embarking on my crazy 8-city, 9-day journey across all four time zones to cross off all 30 ballparks before I turn 30 in mid-September.
Here’s hoping my flights are on time, and the weather cooperates. I’ll even be OK if I only get to see half a game like I did in Washington, because that was a good time.
Nationals Park Report Card:
- Ballpark: A-
- Pre-/Post-Game Atmosphere: A+
- Fans: B
Out in Left Field 