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Washington Nationals...What Now?

By kevinrmcguire, Section MLB
Posted on Wed Apr 27 2005 at 7:22 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

The smell of peanuts and Cracker-Jack, the roar of the crowd, the crack of the bat, and the smell of the grass.  Attention all of you in the District of Columbia area; these images are for you.  But for how long?

But the problems of relocating and working out a temporary stadium deal are, for the moment, gone.  It is now time to let the citizens of Washing ton D.C. enjoy their long awaited return of baseball.  Isn't it the least we can all do?  After all, how long will the Nationals really be around?

The success of baseball's return to D.C. will likely be determined by the success with the team.  The Nationals organization should feel confident that the first year will go by without much to worry about with attendance.  The Nationals actually field a pretty decent team.  Not start thinking pennant fever, but this team, barring injury, is worth going out to see in any city.  The goal of the organization should be to keep a consistently competitive team on the field, thus keeping the citizens of D.C. in their seats.  The question on my mind is this; In five years, where will the Nationals be playing.

For the organization to start regaining some of its credibility and stability a permanent and competent owner must buy the team from Major League Baseball.  The league can not and should not continue to hold on to this team any longer.  Quite frankly, this team should have been put out of is misery within the last five years.  If the search for an owner goes any longer than after this year the league should start to put together a plan to disband the team.  Relocating the team one more time will be a disaster with no good markets left for a team.  The District of Columbia isn't exactly a prime location either as they have already lost baseball franchises to other cities on more than on occasion.  An owner with a baseball frame of mind is just what the team needs now, and as mentioned, should be baseball's top priority.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who seemingly opposed the Expos move to D.C., as concerns about a stadium, tax dollars, and location were a hot topic come crunch time.  Those issues haven't necessarily gone away.  Imagine a team that packed an average of a couple thousand people into their stadium wanted to move to your town.  Nobody would want them!  Now imagine a team of the caliber of the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals or Boston Red Sox were looking for a home in your neck of the woods.  Wouldn't you think differently?  A competent owner or group of owners who has a passion for the game and team will keep the organization competitive and the citizens will likely continue to follow the team.  If the seats keep getting filled the team and its place in the community will grow stronger, and thus putting an end to any arguments against having a team in the area.

Curiosity still surrounds the Nationals.  But curiosity also stimulates excitement.