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.
Continue reading “Play Ball!”
Last Thursday, I checked something off my bucket list – for the first time ever, I saw a no-hitter at Nats Park. Of course God had the last laugh. The Nats were no-hit by San Diego’s Dylan Cease. I guess beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to bucket list items.
No-hitters are a rarity. There might be one or three in any given baseball season. That’s one or three no-hitters, out of the 2,430 games the 30 teams play each year, not counting the playoffs. I’ve seen many grand slam home runs over the years. I’ve seen walk-off homers. I even checked off another bucket list item when I made a Nats World Series game in 2019 (they lost the game, but won the series). But a no-hitter? That’s a big no-no never. Until July 26th, 2024.
The game started at noon and at 12:15, there was a rain delay of 76 minutes. The first half inning wasn’t even over. When the game resumed around 1:30, Nat’s pitcher Corbin gave up three runs. Ugghhh. After that, he settled down and both Corbin and Cease were pitching well.
At the top of the 6th, I looked at my watch. Holy Cow! It was only 2:30. 4 1/2 innings were covered in one hour. THAT is some fast and effective pitching. It was also about then I noticed the Nats didn’t yet have a hit. Still plenty of time for that.
By the 7th, we were talking about the possibility amongst ourselves. The Nats went no-where that inning. You could feel the tension mounting in the park.
The 8th – the same thing. Cease got the side out on 9 pitches total. We were all talking. Could this/would this really happen?
And then it was the 9th. Vargas made him work for an eight-pitch groundout. Young ground out on the next pitch, and a yell went up inside the park. Abrams came up with two outs. He hit a low liner that looked like it might drop, and NO! The right fielder caught it!
The San Diego fans in the stadium let out a roar. And then the Nats fans stood up and the vast majority of us also started clapping. Not for the Padres winning, but the superb effort Cease had given. You can honor effort and history without disrespecting your team and that’s what we were doing. Against the Nats, I wouldn’t have said he was dominant, but he was d@mned efficient.
It turns out Cease has only given up two hits in the last 22 innings he has pitched. The man is currently on fire. It’s also worth pointing out he played for the White Sox before this season. Jerry Reinsdorf traded him away at the start of this season. Did I mention no one in Chicago cares much for Reinsdorf these days?
And the Nats? Since baseball returned to Washington in 2005, it’s only the second time they’ve been no-hit in the last 14 years.
I’ve thought about my emotions at the end of the game. Through the 8th, I was hoping for a hit and a rally from the Nats. In the 9th? I was holding my breath, and to be honest, I’m not quite sure what I hoped. For the Nats to win? Certainly. But on that last at bat? Two outs? Yea, maybe I was holding my breath, waiting to see if history would be made. I know after the right fielder caught the line drive, I too rose, and softly clapped. You can honor effort and history without disrespecting your team.
Two questions simultaneously occupied my brain – “Why would I possibly order a hotdog with mac n’ cheese and crab meat on it?” – and – “How could I possibly turn down a hotdog with mac n’ cheese and crab meat on it!?” I admit it – I’ve sampled some strange ‘dogs at the ballpark this year.
Until last season, a good brat stand was not far from our seats and it became my go-to place at Nat’s Park. It’s gone now, or moved somewhere else. Instead, behind our seats in section 219 is a concession stand with burgers and hotdogs. It also has a specialty hotdog called “Taste of the Majors” on the menu.
The “Taste of the Majors” hotdog changes every series, depending on who the visiting team is and where they are from. It pairs the hotdog with something that city or region is known for.
If the Cubs or White Sox are visiting, it’s easy and a straightforward Chicago dog is on the menu. With Milwaukee, it’s always a brat instead of a hotdog, maybe with grilled onions if you want. Both of those make sense. It’s when other cities visit that things can get, well, a little strange.
Earlier this season, when the Baltimore Orioles were in town, they added crab meat and mac n’ cheese. The crab meat I understood, but not sure I knew Bal’more was a mac ‘n cheese hotbed. Seeing it on the menu, I felt both appalled and intrigued. “Intrigued” won out and I ordered it.
And?
In its own weird way, it was delicious. And messy. I needed a knife and fork to finish eating it.
A few weeks later, the NY Mets were in town. The Taste of the Majors ‘dog? A hotdog with pastrami, sour kraut and mustard. Excellent. A hotdog with kraut is fairly normal, so the pastrami was just a nice add-on. As a bonus, no knife or fork were required.
A week later the Atlanta Braves were visiting. OK, this was interesting – A deep fried hotdog with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, cole slaw and a pickle. My stomach rumbled just looking at the description. My brain said no. My stomach said no. Some other part of me said “You must try this!”, so I ordered it. It was interesting, but… I wouldn’t get it a second time. I thought it might be a cousin to a chili dog and taste pretty good, but that wasn’t the case. It tasted just as strange as it first sounded. I should note did take a Pepcid before going to bed that night. Curiously, as I write this blog, I am re-tasting the Atlanta dog – a not entirely pleasant sensation.
So the early season review? The O’s ‘dog was intriguing and good; the Mets ‘dog was a perfect blend of tastes; and the Braves ‘dog was a clash of flavors that didn’t quite work together.
Each of these puppies weighed in at around 850-900 calories. Healthy is never a term used to describe a hotdog, let alone these bad boys. Cath rolls her eyes when I tell her what I had to eat at the park. Still, my macabre fascination remains. We aren’t at the All-Star break yet and there are many games and ‘dogs to go. At some point, will common sense or my taste buds prevail and I’ll heed Nancy Reagan’s advice and “Just say no!” to these mutants?
That’s a question I can’t definitively answer, but my guess is that for better or worse, I have a few more “Taste of the Majors” hotdog creations in my future.
Addendum:
⁃ Between this blog and the one I did about sausage gravy Pizza, I’m sure at least some people are asking what the hell kind of stuff is Max putting in his system. I actually do eat healthily most of the time – salads, vegetables/vegetarian, some meat, and not much dairy, potatoes or pasta. Still, I think it’s good to enjoy life and challenge the ol’ digestive track on occasion. Otherwise, what’s the point of it all?
“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.” – Yogi Berra.
I’ve loved baseball since I was a kid. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to be a long season for our No Name Gnats this year. Still, I love live baseball and I’m happy Opening Day is finally here this week. A beer and a brat will be a fine way to start the year, and we’ll see what develops.
2019 and the Nats World Series win was eons ago now. Since then, it’s been three straight last place finishes. Many of the heroes of ‘19 are scattered around the league – Scherzer, Turner, Soto and Rendon to name a few. Zim, Baby Shark, Eaton, and Kendrick are all retired. Robles is still here in the outfield, but hasn’t put up great (or even good) numbers. And of course, we still have Strasburg and Corbin here in DC. Those two sure helped us win in ‘19, but have been a disaster ever since. Stras has pitched a total of just over 30 innings since ‘19 and Corbin was the worst pitcher in all of baseball last year.
Ownership is up in the air – will they or won’t they sell the team? Or will they bring in another partner? Or do nothing? Nobody knows.
Fans are, well, fans. You can tell the ones that jumped on the bandwagon in 2019 – most of those are long gone … after whining incessantly and displaying their lack of knowledge. Among the real fans, the long term fans, there is grumbling as well. But it’s a different type of grumbling. It comes with an understanding of the ups and downs and the fickleness of baseball. Everyone is unhappy about the ownership situation (will they or won’t they). People understood trading Scherzer two years ago, and even Turner, who had a year left on his contract. Soto? That one hurt.
I remind folk that we’ve been through nothing. You want long term suffering? Be a Cubs or Red Sox fan – they went 80 to 100 years between World Series wins. Cleveland is currently sitting on a 75 year streak with no World Series. Three last place finishes after winning the World Series? No, I’m not happy about it, but please, get some perspective people.
And so we come to the ‘23 season. A probable opening day lineup of players most people outside of DC have never heard of – Thomas, Smith, Menenes, Garcia, Ruiz, Abrams, Robles, Dickerson and Candelario. Pitchers will include the previously mentioned Corbin, along with Gray, Gore and a couple of others TBD. Seriously, how many of those names do you know? Hell, most fans in DC don’t know several of those names either.
It’s generally a young line up, and I’m particularly excited to see what Garcia, Ruiz and Abrams can do in the field, and Gray and Gore on the mound. With luck, we will see a couple of bright spots.
For this year, the team will be what it will be and I’ve made my peace with that. I’m just happy to get back to the park, as sure a sign of spring as anything I know. As the great Hall of Famer and Saint Louis Cardinal 2nd basemen Rogers Hornsby once said – “People ask me what I do in the winter when there is no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”
See you at Nats Park. I’ll be in section 219.
I’m not going to lie. This Spring, I feel how a bear must feel coming out of hibernation – A bit groggy, and damned hungry. Yes, I’m hungry, hungry for life. While spring is always a time of hope and renewal, this year I’m optimistic about life for a couple of other reasons as well: covid vaccines are happening, and the Nats are going to play baseball in front of live fans again.
Cathy and I have our vaccines now. As of today, two weeks have passed since her second Pfizer shot, so we are both good to go. Although 47+ million Americans are now fully vaccinated, that is actually only about 15% of the US population. Biden declared a goal of 200 million vaccinations by the end of his first 100 days and I think we will make it. You can see the momentum building in the vaccination programs and soon everyone who wants a shot will be able to get one. America is opening up again, slowly, but surely.
I feel doubly lucky right now – My buddy Bill has been a Nats season ticket holder since they returned to DC in 2005, and as a result, he was able to buy 4 of the Covid-limited 5,000 tickets available for opening day (in a 41,500 seat ballpark). Have I mentioned Bill is one of my favorite people in the whole world? I’ll be one of the 5,000 fans attending Opening Day. I should also mention that our group of four are all vaccinated.
Seeing baseball in the park, with a beer and a brat in my hands, yea, I’m ready for that. After losing live baseball for the entire 2020 season due to Covid, I’m almost giddy about going to Opening Day. Hopefully the Nats win, but for right now, I’m just happy to see a baseball game in person. I can’t wait for the roar of the crowd, as the announcer calls “Play Ball!”
It’s the simple things. The other evening, we went out to dinner with our neighbors. Mike drove the four of us. In his convertible. With the top down. We dined at Field and Main in a cabana with the doors open, letting the evening breeze gently blow in. It was a wonderful night with good friends. It was the kind of night we all took for granted a couple of years ago. Now? It’s silly, but I know I’m going to remember that dinner for a long time.
While I can’t speak for other people, or other locations, here in Virginia, the feeling of renewal is visceral. It’s grown warm, flowers are in bloom, trees are budding out and it’s staying light longer. The Daffodils are everywhere. These things happen every year in the spring, but this year, I’m noticing them more. From comments I’m hearing, others are as well.
Maybe one of the good things that will come out of this past “Year of Covid” is a renewed appreciation for the little things in life. The things we all took for granted for so long. Whether seeing blooming flowers, attending a baseball game, or having a nice dinner out with friends on a spring evening, I hope I can keep this feeling of renewal alive for awhile. If no where else, I’ll at least keep it in my heart.
Addendum:
Writing this addendum update on the afternoon of April 1st, Opening Day. Silly me. I forgot this was still the year of Covid and today is April Fool’s Day. A Nats player was Covid Positive. Four other players were in proximity and are also in quarantine. The Nats Opening Day has been postponed… for at least two days. It won’t be today, and it won’t be tomorrow (“Out of an abundance of caution”). —sigh— Cathy is laughing at me and saying I’m acting pretty pitiful right now…. ;-).
This too shall pass and is but a small bump on the journey. The arrival of spring, and our overall renewal is inevitable.
Live Life Exuberantly 