Play Ball!

The Nat’s pitchers and catchers reported for spring training last week on February 12th. I’m excited, but also a bit sad. My old friend, Bill Wagner, passed away last September. He was the owner of the season ticket group I belong to and there will be a hole in my heart on Opening Day. 

Cath and I first met Bill in the ‘90s through our running group, The Hash House Harriers. Our friendship grew and over the years, it expanded. Among other activities, we travelled to both the Galapagos and Africa together. In Africa, a group of 6 of us spent a month traveling through South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. A month together, day in and day out is a long time – at the end, I think your friendship is either stronger, or perhaps develops some cracks. In our case, it grew stronger. 

Our friendship also grew through baseball. Both Bill and I owned mini-season ticket plans with the Orioles in the ‘90s and would occasionally see each other at Camden Yard, or at Pickles or one of the other bars across the street. When baseball and the Nats returned to DC in 2005, Bill immediately bought a full season ticket plan with four seats. At the time, the Nats were playing at the old RFK Stadium. 

Three years later when they opened Nationals Park, Bill transferred his tickets there, and has maintained those seats ever since. You could always find Bill in section 219, row D, Seats 1-4 for the last seventeen years. He was a season ticket holder for all twenty years of the Nat’s existence. 

I should also say that while Bill was the owner of the seats, many took advantage of his tickets. Over the years there were probably 20-30 of us who bought tickets from Bill, sometimes going to games with him, and sometimes going on our own. It was a robust and diverse group.  

About a decade ago, Bill was looking for partners to help spread the financial risk, and to take on some of the chores with administering tickets for “the group”. I, along with friends Willie and Dave, agreed to join Bill as full partners. To help Bill, we ended up setting up a standard email group, a separate bank account, a standard online way to pay for tickets, and started hosting 4-6 group games each year. We’d often have 15-20 people attend each group game and Bill rarely missed one.

When we became full partners, the four of us attended virtually every opening day, many regular season games, playoff games, the All Star Game and World Series games together. We would often meet at one of the nearby local breweries, Atlas or Solace, for a prelube* before the game. A lot of memories were made over the years, with the pinnacle no doubt happening in 2019 when the Nats won it all. 

And then last September, Bill passed away on a day he was supposed to come to the Park for a day game. He didn’t show at the game and that had NEVER happened before.  Bill had peacefully passed away in his bed.  

We held a “memorial” at Nats Park on the last day of the season. There was a great turnout and we had a salute to him on the Jumbotron.  I’m sure Bill was with us in spirit that day. 

Willie, Dave and I talked after the season finished and notified the Nats of Bill’s passing. We also made the decision to transfer Bill’s tickets to us and go forward this year. It wasn’t a hard decision, although it was an emotional one. 

Yes, pitchers and catchers reported on the 12th. The rest of the team arrives in Florida this week. Both events are surer signs of the approach of spring than the ground hog Punxsutawney Phil ever was.

Six weeks from now Spring Training concludes and the first of 162 games will take place.  The Nats Opening Day is March 27th with a 4PM game against the Phillies. I’m looking forward to the game and the season. It will be sad Bill isn’t there and I’m sure we’ll drink a toast to him. Then, just before the game starts, the announcer will call out “PLAY BALL!”, and the game, the season, and our lives without Bill will go on. That’s what happens both in baseball and in life.

Rest in Peace Bill.  I was happy and proud to call you my friend.

Addendum:

• * Prelube – in an automotive system, a prelube “automatically pumps oil throughout the engine’s lubrication system, pressurizing all passages BEFORE the engine begins to crank.”  We often do the same with our bodies, by “prelubing” at a local brewery before a baseball game starts. It is definitively more economical to drink beer outside the park than it is in the stadium itself.