Nationals Win The World Series!!!

[Thomas Kearney]

I didn't get to bed until 2 AM last night so nobody cared as I half listened half slept through Philosophy class today. The Washington Nationals won their first World Series title and the first for baseball in Washington since 1924. That was way before any of us were born. I originally wasn't happy when the Expos moved to Washington until the Racing Presidents came along and now the Nationals have taken it all and this suffering Orioles fan is happy. Next year the Commissioner's Trophy will hopefully go up the BW Parkway for the first time since 1983. A parade is scheduled for 2 PM Saturday on MASN and ESPN. Let me know how excited you are

[RJNorton]

I think this is an amazing accomplishment as the team was 12 games under .500, 19-31, as of May 24th. Kudos, Nationals!

[L Verge]

Thomas - I stayed up until 2 am also and got the old bones up at 7 am to make it to work. The whole city is a buzz, and it looked so good to see thousands of folks out and about in the area around Nats Park -- an area that was a slum not too long ago. It rained all night on about 15,000 fans who sat in the open stadium to watch the game on those huge screens. We had visitors at the museum today from out-of-state, and they caught the fever also.

My daughter and I have been communicating this evening while ordering some expensive souvenirs of the win online as Christmas gifts for my grandson. My one regret is that our old Huntt house used to have an autograph from Walter Johnson of the old Senators when the Washington team participated in the World Series in the 1920s. It probably burned five years ago when vandals set the house on fire.

For you youngsters, Walter was the Strasburg of his day. My uncle was born in 1902, so by the 1920s, he was a die-hard Washington baseball fan. He took over our family's country store, and when I was a child in the 1940s and 50s, the men of the area (black, white, purple, and green) would gather around the old pot-bellied stove at the store to talk baseball, chew tobacco, and then eat their lunch of either sardines or Vienna sausages that they bought from my uncle. Those were the good times.

[Dennis Urban]

I also stayed up and watch all the games to conclusion except one. A huge win for the city and area. Congratulations Nats!

I grew up in the MD suburbs of Takoma Park in the 1950s and 1960s. I recall my Dad, a Yankees fan, taking my twin brother and I to Senators games at old Griffith Stadium. I don't recall much of the games but I do recall running the bases after the game. I have an old photo circa 1955 with my brother and I in baseball uniforms with a bat and an old flat glove without the fingers laced together. Later, I attended Senators games, sitting in the bleachers, in DC stadium watching Mickey Mantle hit home runs and Ted Williams manage. I collected baseball cards and paid for them by collecting discarded $.02 deposit soda bottles. I recall paying about $.10 for a pack of 5 cards and a thin, flat, pink piece of bubble gum slightly smaller than the card itself. Oh, to have those back! The less desired cards were used in the spokes of one's bike to create an engine sound. Finally, with deference to General Washington, I still remember the annual manta, "Washington, first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League!" Happily, that is no more.

I no longer live in the area, but still follow the club very closely and hope to take in a game next summer.

[L Verge]

I hope some of you got to see at least snippets of the Nationals' parade and rally today in DC. It was my old city once again, packed with hundreds of thousands of fans who were super-hyped, but well-behaved and respectful while having a great time. The same goes for the team, who certainly showed the brotherhood that folks have been talking about during the playoffs, especially during the rally.

I really didn't follow the team this year because I expected another disastrous season, so I had some catching up to do on names, etc. during the past month. In the process, I think I have developed crushes on some. Ryan Zimmerman was already well-known to me for his staying with the team through thick and thin (for 15 years), but the unknowns to me that have really impressed are Soto, Rendon, Kendrick, Corbin (Scherzer and Strasburg were already household names), Trea Turner, and Kurt, whose last name I cannot spell.

And I am definitely in love with Martinez, the major coach. His love of the game, his team, and his fans just bursts from the seams. When he climbed down from the bus with some others and walked the fan lines shaking hands and taking photos with the crowds over and over again -- and then choking back tears while at the mic during the rally -- I found myself tearing up also. And, trust me, it takes a lot to make me cry nowadays.

Mention was made of the fans who sat in the rain at Nationals Park last Tuesday to watch the game on the big screen. The number has been placed at 36,000. One of the commentators today said the fans along the parade route were forty deep in some spots and overall larger than the crowd for the Washington Capitals hockey team parade in 2018. That number was reported to be 800,000. Wouldn't it be great if the number went to a million today for the Nats?

Now, wouldn't it be great if the politicians on Capitol Hill took a lesson from the Nats and showed teamwork on both sides of the aisle, and most importantly, across those aisles... ?

[Thomas Kearney]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GEsZjn8b0o

If you missed the parade like I did (I was watching the Breeders' Cup), MLB and MASN put a highlight video together at the link I provided. Also, Stephen Strasburg opted out of his contract with the World Champs, making him a free agent. This Orioles fan hopes he'll be pitching for us next year.

[L Verge]

Can't remember if I posted that there were two baseball teams already in D.C. when Mr. Lincoln arrived in 1861, but here's a link to the full story:
https://civilwarwashingtondc1861-1865.bl...mment-form