Dick Long, well-known area journalist, has just returned from a four-month vacation in Washington, D.C. and he is excited about those Washington Nationals.
Dick spent 30 years of his life in D.C. in the newspaper business. He was the Washington correspondent for Newhouse newspapers in the late 60s Before retiring, Long had a government public affairs job. For the past two years, Dick has been writing a weekly column for the Eagle newspapers, especially the Skaneateles Press.
Long found special excitement in D.C. this year after the Montreal franchise transferred to the Capitol city.
"I could feel it in the air when I arrived last January," Dick said. "Fans were already wearing Washington baseball caps to work even in frigid weather."
D.C. lost its first team, the Senators in 1971. Poor attendance and bad records forced owner Bob Short to move the team to Texas and it became the Rangers. Fans went wild when Short left and they tore up the field in RFK Stadium. The city had been without baseball for 34 years.
Current Mayor Anthony Williams and his group that was credited with getting the Nationals, received a standing ovation when he was introduced to the crowd of 45,000-plus on opening night. Opening day sold out two months in advance. A total of 20,000 season tickets were sold the first month and 5,000 has been added since then.
Long reported the sensational ticket sales has had an effect on the players.
The Nationals got off to a great start defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 in their home debut. They have been averaging 30,000 per home game.
Dick, who first arrived in Washington in 1965, provided me with some interesting history of the famous city. In 1890, the National League was the only major baseball league.
It was composed of 12 teams, including the Washington Nationals. In 1899, the league was reduced to eight clubs and Washington was eliminated.
In 1901, the American League was formed and Washington joined and were still called the Nationals. The name change to the Senators was shrouded in mystery. It may have been because the Nationals were now playing in the American League - therefore Nationals was confusing.
Long also pointed out the Washington club is still owned by Major League Baseball. Eight potential owners each deposited $100,000 and soon one of them will be chosen to take over.
A new stadium will be completed in 2008 near the Anacostia River in southeast Washington. It will have a great view of the Capitol.
Dick, who has lived in Auburn for four years, is a very loyal Auburn Doubleday fan.
"Washington is my major-league favorite but on the minor league level, I root for the Doubledays," he said.
Dick, you look pretty sharp in that baseball cap with the big "W" on top.
Long found special excitement in D.C. this year after the Montreal franchise transferred to the Capitol city.
"I could feel it in the air when I arrived last January," Dick said. "Fans were already wearing Washington baseball caps to work even in frigid weather."
D.C. lost its first team, the Senators in 1971. Poor attendance and bad records forced owner Bob Short to move the team to Texas and it became the Rangers. Fans went wild when Short left and they tore up the field in RFK Stadium. The city had been without baseball for 34 years.
Current Mayor Anthony Williams and his group that was credited with getting the Nationals, received a standing ovation when he was introduced to the crowd of 45,000-plus on opening night. Opening day sold out two months in advance. A total of 20,000 season tickets were sold the first month and 5,000 has been added since then.
Long reported the sensational ticket sales has had an effect on the players.
The Nationals got off to a great start defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 in their home debut. They have been averaging 30,000 per home game.
Dick, who first arrived in Washington in 1965, provided me with some interesting history of the famous city. In 1890, the National League was the only major baseball league.
It was composed of 12 teams, including the Washington Nationals. In 1899, the league was reduced to eight clubs and Washington was eliminated.
In 1901, the American League was formed and Washington joined and were still called the Nationals. The name change to the Senators was shrouded in mystery. It may have been because the Nationals were now playing in the American League - therefore Nationals was confusing.
Long also pointed out the Washington club is still owned by Major League Baseball. Eight potential owners each deposited $100,000 and soon one of them will be chosen to take over.
A new stadium will be completed in 2008 near the Anacostia River in southeast Washington. It will have a great view of the Capitol.
Dick, who has lived in Auburn for four years, is a very loyal Auburn Doubleday fan.
"Washington is my major-league favorite but on the minor league level, I root for the Doubledays," he said.
Dick, you look pretty sharp in that baseball cap with the big "W" on top.
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