This was my second Major League Baseball park I had visited after a long-awaited trip to my first ballpark: Safeco Field back in 2012. The ballpark is situated in the heart of capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., which also made me attend the Pokémon World Championship 2014 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center and several historical monuments like Capitol Hill, White House, and Lincoln Memorial.
The Metro subway — Woodley Park-Zoo station to Navy Yard-Ballpark station — allowed me to take about 30 minutes to get to the ballpark from the hotel I stayed close to Smithsonian National Zoological Park.
An outdoor parking space was available along with a separate parking garage.
As I was crossing the street, I could not help noticing how long the traffic lights for pedestrians lasted. The crosswalk towards Capitol Hill even allowed me to take up to 50 seconds to cross as the distance was quite long.
The guest assistance booth and the directory for the ballpark map were situated at every gate.
Will Call is a place where people pick up their tickets after buying in advance through the website/app, email, and phone. Self-serve kiosks for tickets are also available nearby.
The Pirates were visiting the Nationals for a 3-game series from August 15 to 17.
Me posing at the center field gate in a Mariners shirt as my goal is to take a photo at all 30 ballparks. One of the Nationals fans was kind enough to take a photo for me.
The main box office was where you can purchase tickets in person. It opened 3 hours before the first pitch and closes at the end of the 6th inning.
Visiting the team store in any ballpark I haven’t visited was as exciting as watching good baseball games.
There were various names available, such as Denard Span (2), Anthony Rendon (6), Danny Espinosa (8), Ryan Zimmerman (11), Ian Desmond (20), Tyler Clippard (36), Drew Storen (22), Adam LaRoche (25), Gio Gonzalez (27), Stephen Strasburg (37), and Bryce Harper (34) in various sizes. I decided to buy a Zimmerman’s red shirt as he has been playing for the team ever since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
Many were wearing “37” Stephen Strasburg, who was drafted by the Nationals in the first overall in 2009.
Various goods were being sold, such as regular Nationals bags, Eagle plush bags, and shirts with different graphics.
Bryce Harper was another player to be drafted by the Nationals in the first overall, just a year after — 2010 — Strasburg was drafted.
You could get your jersey customized with your own name and numbers. I liked their “Show your attitude” phrase on the wall as a last step to complete customization.
A plethora of white and red baseballs are attached on the wall to form the team’s “W” symbol at the checkout.
Photos of players for each position were seen on the wall of the store. There was no designated photo/player for the left field, but Kevin Frandesen played the position on the day.
With the amount of hot dog wraps, drink cups/bottles, and containers of all sorts of snacks — chips, pretzels, and nachos — available, baseball cap-shaped garbage and recycling bins were at the guest’s disposal.
It was packed on Saturday afternoon. The number of people in red jerseys was about the same as people in white.
One of the neat features I saw was a separate indoor bar called “Red Porch.” There were two different places to sit — inside and outside on the overhang. They had TVs and windows to see the field inside and tables were set up right under the red roof as shade. Fans could also watch the game while standing in the Red Loft stair case.
It was amazing to see an energetic staff member waving a giant Nationals flag that was twice the size of him.
The players started to come out of the dugout with the 4 umpires heading to their designated position. Eagle Mascot and the camera crew as well as the security guard were in action too.
The jumbotron was surrounded by many things such as the sponsors and advertisements. The W with a dozen red stars stood out to me as it reminded me of Ferris Wheel.
Players were introduced on the jumbotron with their signature, position, and number.
Bryce Harper, a two-time All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year, smashed 20+ home runs in his first two major league seasons at the age of 21.
The starting pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, faced a leadoff hitter and shortstop, Josh Harrison.
My seat allowed me to easily scan the people behind the home plate as if I was sitting right next to them.
I managed to take a good shot of the swing-and-miss pose by LaRoche.
A man in front of my row started to use the scoreboard — included in the free book available in the stadium — to record the game. A useful way to keep up with the game and a great way to focus on the game too.
When a person in front of you stood up, I had no choice but to stand up too.
Other than the game score, the jumbotron displayed various numbers such as in-depth stats for players at bat, pitch speed along with how many strikes and balls the pitcher had thrown, and the current time. The layout was clean and easy to navigate.
One of the effective ways to be on the jumbotron was wearing something unique like the viking helmet.
A 20-dollar upgrade was available to be able to watch closely on the field.
Jared Hughes, who replaced Lock, gets the final out to leave the runners stranded as Ian Desmond lined out to shortstop.
He appeared as a pinch hitter for Stammen and started the 8th inning with a walk after working on 6 pitches.
Adam LaRoche tied the game with a two-run homer that drove in Denard Span, who also singled to drive in Micheal A. Taylor for the first Nationals’ run of the game.
Bryce Harper walked in the bottom of the 9th and moved to second base due to a wild pitch by a Pirates’ pitcher. The winning run was on and Wilson Ramos stepped in.
Overall, I felt lucky as my first game at the Nationals Park turned out to be a walk-off night along with the Martina McBride concert and the sell-out crowd. The ballpark, food, and atmosphere were all great. I will make a visit again one day.