Cute Kid Pix September 2021

More pictures that didn't make their own posts...

We went to see a Washington Nationals game since we got free tickets from one of the summer reading programs. Yay local libraries! Since four of us went in, it was cheaper to buy parking than to ride mass transit (the DC metro is relatively expensive). We discovered a fun little pizza place near the stadium (and even nearer to our parking lot). Wiseguy Pizza does all sorts of pies, including Korean Chicken Pizza which my son loved.

Korean Chicken and Plain slices

Our seats in the stadium had a good view. We were on the fair side of the foul line and in the shade for the first couple of innings.

View from out seats

The Nats have suffered a lot of losses this year, especially players. Some of the big plaza posters have not been replaced yet. 

One of three has gone!

Walking around looking for the best snacks, we found an awesome view of the Anacostia River just behind the stadium.

Looks like a fun place

The game ended in extra innings with the Nats losing by two runs.

My older son went on a caving trip with his scout troop and came back with some muddy, muddy pants.

A sign he had a good time?

Showing off

Nationals Opening Week Game 2021

Thanks to the school Easter holiday, we could go to one of the opening week games for the Washington Nationals baseball team. Since just my oldest son and I went, we took the Metro, which is cheaper than paying for parking for only two of us. We hadn't been to a game in over a year. Some new construction went up, but not a lot. The trapeze school is gone, which is a bummer.

View from the Metro exit

With Covid restrictions, only 5000 fans can attend any one game. The upside of that restriction is that any giveaways won't run out, so there's no need to rush early to the stadium. This particular game (the first of a doubleheader to make up for an earlier missed game) offered special radios.

The giveaway

The radio is pre-tuned to FM 106.7, which is the local station that broadcasts the Nats games. The radio is untuneable, so it's only good for the sports channel. The package also claims it only works at the stadium during game days. But it offers bonus audio content not available on the regular broadcast. Hmm....

The downside of the Covid restriction is that the stadium is fairly empty (the stadium has 41,313 seats). We had a well-shaded view of the field from our seats.

View of the field just before the game begins

To prevent people from "upgrading" their seats, the unused seats are zip-tied closed.

Not a comfortable way to sit

View during the game

Not all the concessions were open. Since the game started at 12:05, we ate lunch in the park. I had chicken tenders with fries. Yummy!

Lunch at the park

The game was fairly exciting at the start. The Nationals took a 4-1 lead in the first inning. Then they gave up five runs in the second, though the Nationals scored another. The game slowed down as the next several innings were scoreless. Then, in the fifth inning, we had the seventh inning stretch. Yes, you read that right, dear reader. Since the game was part of a doubleheader, each game was only seven innings.

This guy on the other team had some amazing stats:

.222 twice, then .444 and .666?!? Is this some sort of math problem?

The game ended with the Nats failing to tie the game on a double play at the bottom of the seventh. The second game was to start forty-five minutes later, so we decided to head home rather than hang around (the Nats lost again). In the metro station, we saw some strange ads.

Uh, maybe we should have gone to the Orioles game?

It was fun to go and we may try again if the situation turns out favorable.

Nats vs. Marlins August 2019

We saw the final game in the late August series with the Washington Nationals hosting the Miami Marlins. The first two games were victories for the Nationals, so we felt good about the prospects for this game. We again got discount seats through the Washington Post, this time overlooking right/center field.

View from our seats

The only bad thing about the seats was that we were under an overhang that blocked our view of the big scoreboard. We couldn't see the replays or any of the audience cam bits or the quiz shows between the innings.

Nationals Park has been offering free kids' meals through the end of summer. We picked up ours, though I think my youngest wasn't happy with his choice of drink.

Free food always has the longest line

Smiling as best he can

Not sure about the soda

I had some chicken tenders with fries and a Devil's Backbone Trail Angel Weiss Beer. The beer was really good on a hot day--not too dark or too heavy or too bitter. It was a great hit.

Beer!

The pull

The game was exciting. An early homer put the Nationals up 1-0. The Marlins made a comeback later, taking the lead 3-2 in the top of the fifth inning. The Nats scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth, never looking back from that point. They won the game 9-3.

The presidential mascot race seemed normal at the start, with George Washington leading Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Regular mascot shenanigans

A twist came up when they got to some balls along the outside track. A game of dodge ball erupted among the mascots!

George gets first pick of balls

As everyone knows, Teddy is the manliest of all American presidents and he easily won the dodge ball game. The announcer said dodge ball was invented in 1905, so it was only naturally that Teddy was able to play it better than the others.

Teddy leaves his fellow presidents in the dust, literally

The game was a lot of fun. We got picked up outside the park. We went to M and South Capitol Streets, only to find a Catholic church on the corner. The church has a big banner offering Mass before the game!

St. Vincent De Paul Church, DC

Sign close up

We weren't sure if the Mass was offered up for the team, the game, or just for the fans. The other challenge is the dress code. Usually we dress very casually for the game; Mass is a whole other ballgame. We may check it out in the future, but it might have to wait till next year since we are already in September with no plans for another game. Maybe there will be playoff games?

Nats vs. Rockies July 2019

We went as a family to see the Washington Nationals play against the Colorado Rockies. The Nats had won both games of a double header the day before, so we had good expectations.

The view from our seats

The game going

Us, cheering our team on

The ball park is offering free meals to kids until September 2. The box comes with a hot dog, chips or apple sauce, and a drink. The kids were happy with the meal, though hot dogs aren't popular with them all. We had to supplement with french fries and a few other snacks.

The kids meal!

This particular night was Secret Service night. The government agency had some displays up and participated with the game. An agent sang the National Anthem. Another one threw the opening pitch. 

Secret Service equipment

They also helped out the mascots during the inter-inning mascot race. Teddy Roosevelt had a couple of agents who helped him out. By "help him out," they knocked over the other presidents along the way to the finish line.

Teddy and his escort

Tom Jefferson "left behind" by Teddy's entourage

Getting to the finish line through George Washington

The other fun thing at the game was when pinch hitter Gerardo Parra came up to bat. The players pick out songs to play as they come up to bat, typically songs that are popular hits or inspiring to the players. Parra chose the song "Baby Shark." The fans was totally into it.

Doing the "Baby Shark"

 In case you don't know the song, here's a news report about it.



In the eighth inning, the mascots were back out to throw t-shirts into the stands. Alas, we didn't receive any, but it was nice to see they had recovered from the race.

Hanging out on the foul line

Not the best outfit for precise throwing

Sadly, the game ended in an 8-7 loss. We had fun at the game anyway.

Father's Day at the Ball Game

For Father's Day, my son and I went to see a ball game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. They were playing the final home game (of three) against the Arizona Diamondbacks. We had won a ticket voucher at a church silent auction back in the Fall and finally cashed it in. We ordered the seats online, naturally requesting the best two available. Turns out they were in row F along the right field line. Five rows in front of us was the field! We'd never had such close seats at a game before.

View from the seats!

We arrived early. I thought the start time was 1:05 but it was really 1:35. We had plenty of time to get through security and get food. We watched the fun pre-game activities. Some kids came down to our section hoping to see and talk to a player. They had Nats jerseys on but had to customize them. The player is no longer with the Nationals, so they covered his name with duct tape (yet another use for duct tape!).

34 was Bryce Harper's number--he's a Philly now

Since it was Father's Day, a bunch of the players had their children come out to the field and catch ceremonial first pitches. The children ranged from maybe two-years old to pre-teen. Their skill level also had a wide range. They were all fun to watch.

Playing catch with daddy!

The game started. The Nats took an early lead, with plenty of good hitting from the start.

Still fabulous seats

To celebrate the day, I had an Earned Run Ale by Devil's Backbone Brewery. I am a sucker for thematic beers or ones with cool names. This was a little close to an IPA (not my favorite style) but it was good. The brewery is in Virginia and it seems like the ale is available mostly in Virginia and the District of Columbia. Cans have the Nats logo (that swoopy W) on them, so I guess it's the team's beer.

Pouring a beer

Closeup of the beer

Later on, they had the traditional "running of the Presidents," where the four guys from Mount Rushmore rush around the field trying to be the first in a foot race. This time, only three came out. George Washington was missing.

Start of the race

Once they got to a corner, Washington stepped out and offered them some fudge from Mount Vernon.

Teddy shares some fudge with Abe

While the other presidents were busy having a snack, the father of our country took off for the finish line. All by himself.

Going for the win

It certainly is easy to win a race when you are the only contestant putting in any effort!

Crossing the finish line

The game had plenty of excitement as the Nationals scored fifteen runs, including a smattering of home runs. The Diamondbacks only scored three times in the first eight innings, then started rallying in the ninth, loading the bases and getting two more runs in. The Nats finally shut them down with the final score of 15-5. The game was very satisfying for us fans and was a great way to spend Father's Day.

Nationals Blood Drive 2018 (Mostly the Free Tour)

The Washington Nationals have been hosting blood drives at their ball field this past summer. I went a second time and brought the kids with me, mostly so they could join me on the free ballpark tour.

We drove in early and the park is a little spooky when there's nobody else there.

Nationals Park, sans fans

I gave blood, which was the regular routine. I guess they expect kids to tag along because the organizers had a scavenger hunt that my children did while I was going through the paperwork and the bloodletting.

Paperwork area

Scavenger hunting--finding the "BOOM!"

After I was done and we'd all had a snack (or two--they were offering Pirates Booty which is a favorite for my daughter), we went on the tour. The first stop was the luxury suites. Interestingly, the cost of renting a suite is higher during the week than on weekends. The explanation was that businesses were more likely to rent for after-work functions, so they could charge more.

A fancy suite

The suites are stocked with a bar and buffet and great seats for viewing the game. This particular suite was unique because of the pool table included.

Luxury suite

View of the game from the suite seats

Bar

Buffet

Down the hall from the suite was some interesting works of art.

First was a baseball bench made from bats and balls and bases!

Not so cosy looking, but really cool looking

Above the bench is a baseball flag by Ron Kittle with several of the balls signed by team members from 2010 (when the flag was made).

Baseball flag!

Nearby is a picture of Hall of Famer Walter Johnson. He started playing for the Washington Senators over a hundred years ago and is famous for great pitching and great sportsmanship. He was one of the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Walter Johnson

A window showed the view to the new soccer stadium not far from Nats Park, though it was far enough not to get a good picture.

View to a soccer field

Even zoomed in, it's not too clear

Down the hall is a display of memoribilia from Shirley Povich, a famous DC sports reporter who covered the Washington Senators and had a long career.

Shirley Povich Hall, is what they should call it

On the wall is Povich's personally scored program of Don Larsen's perfect game in game five of the 1956 World Series. It was the only perfect game in World Series history.

Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers

In one of the conference rooms is another World Series record--the longest game when the Senators beat the Yankees 4 to 3 in 12 innings of play. The story is even more dramatic--that was the seventh game of the 1924 World Series, so it was the deciding game. Povich had a championship pin from that Series.

Score of the only DC team to win the World Series

Pin in Povich's collection

Povitch kept all his press pins from the World Series he covered. Back in the day, teams would send pins to the press so that they would have access to press boxes, club houses, and such during the World Series. One interesting pin is the Brooklyn Dodgers "Phantom pin" from the 1946 series. Teams would send out the pins before the end of the season. Occasionally teams didn't clinch their title until very late in the season, like in 1946. The Dodgers had a chance to make it but didn't. Just in case, they sent pins out before they were sure they would win.

Povitch pin collection

The phantom pin!

We went up to the press box, which is at the top of the stands. A lot of other stadiums have the press lower down with a better view of the game. The Nationals owners decided to save the good seats for the fans (and the suites) rather than the press.

View from the press box

Urban renewal in the neighborhood

Looking out over the edge

Our tour guide pointed out some red chairs over in the high right-field stands. Those chairs are where Washington Nationals players hit home runs. All but one of the red chairs are due to Bryce Harper.

Stands with mis-matched chairs

Close up

The tour took us downstairs to the clubhouses. We were not able to go to the home clubhouse since the Nationals players leave personal items in their lockers. No one wants overenthusiastic fans filching stuff. We toured the visitor's clubhouse, which had plenty of interesting things to see.

Visitor's enterance

The clubhouse has a snack area and a few tables with entertainment items, along with a series of lockers lining the wall. The lockers have removable numbers above them, so visiting teams can have their own numbers over the lockers.

Snack area

Lockers and a table

Games and other distractions for the visitors

Looking cool by the lockers

We went down another hallway that led to the field. On the way we saw some batting cages for practice.

Leaving the clubhouse

Batting area

Going out to the field

We were allowed out on the dirt by the field but not the grass. The groundskeepers are fastidious about the conditions of the field. Being so close to the field was still awesome.

Home plate covered in case of rain?

In the visitor's dugout

View above the dugout

The tour guide showed us the various phones in the dugout. One connects to the bullpen, so the manager or a coach could check with the pitchers warming up. My daughter got to dial it. No one answered but we could hear the ringing in the distance (thanks to the empty stadium).

Phones

Calling for a relief pitcher

My son on the field

The last stop on our tour was to the clubhouse for the Nats Pack, the people who rile up the crowd during the game. Their accommodations are not nearly as luxurious as the players, but it's still nice to have a special place at the stadium.

Nats Pack hangout

Nats Pack signs

We really enjoyed the tour. Sadly, the Nationals finished the season with barely more wins than losses (82-80), so no post-season excitement for us. The blood drive people did sign me up for their next drive, which is with the Capitals. I am pretty sure they aren't giving away free tickets and the drive and tour are at the practice arena in Arlington, Virginia. The location is a long drive and we are not that into hockey (even though the Capitals won the Stanley Cup last year). I'll probably return to the Nats blood drives in the spring of next year.