Over the past three seasons of misery in Montreal, as their team was threatened with extinction, then shuttled to Puerto Rico for many "home" games, Jose Vidro and Brad Wilkerson were the Expos' long-suffering stalwarts, playing by far the most games and, as a result, feeling the full weight of their club's physical and psychological burdens.
Now, though they haven't mentioned it to each other, they have reacted identically to their arrival in Washington. Before and after every home game, they forget the possible shortcuts and parkways that link their apartments to RFK Stadium. Instead, as they drive to and fro, they meander through the city, passing as many monumental marble buildings as possible, soaking up the feeling of power that the city exudes in daylight, then sensing its shimmering magical whiteness under moonlight. Like almost everybody who has ever really lived in the city, rather than simply passing through it, they are beginning to love Washington.
"It's my first time here and I can't get enough of all these beautiful buildings. The structures here are unbelievable," Vidro said. "Every day I go out of my way to drive past the White House and the Capitol. History, man. And at night, it's so quiet.
"I see these huge places, not just the famous monuments, and I say, 'What is that?' " In time, he says, he will visit them all.
Wilkerson was shown the fastest route from his MCI Center neighborhood to RFK. He ignored it. "I could take the back way around 295, but I choose to take Independence [Avenue] the whole way so I can see the city that runs the world. When I get near the ballpark, I take Kentucky Avenue. Reminds me of home a little," said the Owensboro, Ky., native, grinning. "When I go home at night, I cut across 7th Street and see the Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument."
Less than two weeks ago, the Nationals talked about how intimidated they were by the District's maze of traffic circles, dead-end streets and crisscrossing avenues. Not one of them thought they'd get any feeling of having a "home" town for who knows how long.
"It's frightening trying to find your way driving around D.C.," Manager Frank Robinson said. After one game, hitting coach Tom McCraw got so lost so often that he needed three hours to get from RFK to his apartment near the Pentagon. His mistake? McCraw played for the old Senators in '71 and had a false sense of confidence. "Nothing is the same. I went everywhere. There's no part of Washington where I wasn't lost," McCraw said. "Are you listening? Three hours, man."
Now, in a matter of days, it's become "Independence" instead of "Independence Avenue" and "7th" instead of "7th Street." Wilkerson, an avid golfer, says that he may play "RTJ" tomorrow, a day off. That would be Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, where the Presidents Cup has been played. "Oh, I'll probably find it," said Wilkerson, who had a two-run upper-deck home run last night in the fifth inning of the Nats' 3-1 win over Philadelphia. "We've all been looking at the maps."
The adjustment has begun so rapidly that some Nats actually find it amusing, especially catcher Brian Schneider, who has many relatives in the area and knows it well. "When we went up to New York [for a three-game series], I heard guys saying that they couldn't wait to 'get back home,' " said Schneider. "That was quick."
The mutual adoption of town and team has been so swift because each needed the other so badly. "We have fans who are desperate to see baseball. I can see those stands [bouncing]. It's crazy," said Vidro. "This feels like a big-time sports town. . . . That didn't happen in Montreal. Nothing against Montreal."
Yeah, nothing against Montreal, except that, exactly one year ago at this time, playing baseball as a representative of that city was an utter indignity. "Just to look at that schedule [last April], you got mentally tired," said Vidro. "It was a killer for us."
In fact, it killed the whole '04 season as the Expos started 6-20. No team has ever endured such mortification. Of those first 26 games, only three were in Montreal. Two of those crowds were 6,899 and 8,267, letting the Expos know Canada didn't give a damn. In six April games in Puerto Rico, the Expos were 1-5. "No way there were 10,000 people at those games," said Wilkerson. The team played 20 straight days, 26 games in 27 days in seven cities, including a western trip.
