A Confluence of History, Tradition and Baseball
Sunday, April 1, 2007; Page E02
Opening Day in Washington goes back to 1871, when a team called the Olympic Base Ball Club of Washington played in a league called the National Association. The Olympics became the Nationals in 1872, and for the next 100 years baseball teams representing Washington opened the baseball season in such leagues as the American League, National League, Negro National League and others.
Presidential openers began in 1910, when President William Howard Taft threw out the first ball at American League Park (Florida and Trinidad streets NE). That was followed by first pitches by 10 additional presidents at Griffith Stadium and RFK until the Senators left for Texas after the 1971 season.
  President Bush re-inaugurated the tradition of first pitches at the Nationals' 2005 home opener. "Presidential openers are part of our history," Commissioner Bud Selig said. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post) |
Richard Nixon was the last president to throw out a first pitch in Washington (1969) until President Bush ended the drought by throwing out the first pitch of Major League Baseball's return to Washington on April 14, 2005.
That brings us to tomorrow's Opening Day, the last at RFK Stadium with the new 41,000-seat stadium on the Anacostia waterfront in Southeast scheduled to open next April. President Bush won't be on the mound because of a scheduling conflict, although the former owner of the Texas Rangers has seen the Nats at RFK several times during the past two seasons.
"The presidential opener is a phenomenal tradition we hope to revive next year," said Nationals President Stan Kasten, who said the day will be marked by bands, the unfurling of a huge American flag, flyover by military jets and players greeting fans at the gate.
"Presidential openers are part of our history and show how important the game has been," Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig said. "Presidential openers have been a wonderful tradition that I hope continues -- with most occurring in Washington."
Friday's Wall Street Journal reported that the national obsession of attending Opening Day throughout Major League Baseball has resulted in a scramble for tickets at many stadiums. That's not the case in Washington, where rebuilding the team's farm system took precedence over a more expensive roster. That decision resulted in gloomy preseason forecasts and a modest season ticket base (15,000-16,000).
"We'll push 40,000 for the opener" at RFK (capacity 45,596), Kasten said. "We've made good progress this spring. I think we're building something special."
Kasten's optimism, the club's aggressive marketing over the past several weeks and some decent pitching during spring training have brightened the outlook for the Nats' third season.
But how the fans respond to the Ted Lerner-Kasten ownership strategy might be as interesting to watch as the team's performance on the field. Washington area fans clamored for years to get their own team. They noted that the region has 4.5 million residents and was deserving. The new stadium opens in 2008, but the game is here now. We'll see how many people notice.
Hoya Saxa
Georgetown's stunning 96-84 overtime victory over North Carolina in the East Region final last Sunday, which pushed the Hoyas to the Final Four in John Thompson III's third season, had people talking Hoyas past and present.
Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan, who played for Rutgers against John Thompson Jr.'s teams in the mid-1970s: "They always played defense under Big John. Very aggressive with lots of muscle. Active on the glass. Lots of guys from the D.C. area. They still come from the area. I've always been proud of that."
