The Nationals have played their final game of the 2005 season. The game – a 9-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies – capped a remarkable year that finally brought baseball back to DC.
The second half of the season proved a mirror image of the first half: 50-31 before the All-Star break, 31-50 after. The “one-run wonders” of April, May and June ended up being the hitless game throwers of July, August and September. There were highs and lows, great plays and blooper reel nuggets, days where nobody could beat them and nights where the grounds crew could beat ’em with both hands tied beind their backs.
But above all: it was fun, a helluva ride, and worth every tense moment, painful grimace, elated cheer and spilled beer.
There were 2,731,993 tickets bought for this season’s games, a marked contrast from the 790,000-odd tickets that were sold for last season’s Montreal-San Juan Expos, and an even great contrast to the 655,156 tickets sold for the last baseball occupant of RFK Stadium, the 1971 Washington Senators. No game sold less than 20,000 tickets – a remarkable feat that wasn’t even matched by NL East stalwarts Atlanta and New York. I attended 13 games, including their final pre-season tuneup back in April, when the stands felt more like February than June. My final trip through the RFK turnstiles was this past Saturday, when I saw the Nats lose to the Phillies.
I’m proud to be a season ticket holder to our MLB team. I love RFK Stadium, and hope to see it serve many more years as the home of the Nationals. I love the fans, because they represent through good times and bad.
Most of all: I love baseball.
jank
3 October 2005 — 14:39
Yeah, ain’t baseball the greatest?
Though I thought the Nats were getting a new stadium as part of the deal, and ditching RFK…
BTW – when is the shoulder going to be better? Hopefully you’ll be back on the wheels in time to enjoy some of the fall…
Grand Poobah
3 October 2005 — 14:50
Yeah, they’re getting a new stadium, though not as quickly as MLB had originally hoped. Even with the NLDC’s victory in the Supreme Court, it’s not making eminant domain any easier here in DC. That, and the property values for the southeast waterfront have gone up quite a bit more than the stadium proposal’s assessment assumed.
So the Nats will be at RFK through at least 2009, if not 2010 or 2011. And who knows if a good deal to renovate RFK won’t pop up before then? Hard to say….
The shoulder is doing well, thanks! I should be back on the bike in a couple of weeks. The strength in my arm is getting better every day, and the flexibility is coming along (though it’ll be about 9 months before I get it all back). Frankly, I can’t wait for some good bike time. I might even have to bring the wheels up to Connecticut sometime this fall and put in some good miles.
Are you running in the Hartford ‘Thon?
jank
4 October 2005 — 13:54
New London’s trying to shut down the NLDC – funny stories.
Not running Hartford, but I may drag the rugrats up there just so they can see some “real” runners.
I’m jonesing to hit the road on the bike. This morning’s drive was the first one with real hints of yellow in the trees that turn yellow. Good stuff. But I’m dedicating this year to the run…