Spring Training is upon us. It’s celebrated as a holiday in many a home and cheers up folks stuck in deep emotional slumps due to winter (and no baseball). It’s a time to look forward to the sweet summertime yet to come. It’s the time of year where rebirth is ever-present, in the weather and in state-of-mind. That’s why I’m looking forward to the 2013 Major League Baseball season in Washington, D.C. – home of the 2012 National League East Champions.
There’s a lot to be excited about if you’re a Nats fan. For example: a lead-off hitting hustler of a center fielder in Denard Span, no pitch limit for Stephen Strasburg, newly crowned National League Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper (and everything he does #fangirling), a starting rotation and bullpen worthy of evoking envy throughout all of baseball, and a roster that’s just as cohesive (if not more so) as Gordon Bombay’s Mighty Ducks from Minnesota.
April is a month notoriously known for low attendance at ballparks around the country (Opening Week excluded), but I’ll venture to bet that Nats Park is packed on a consistent basis once school’s out for the summer and folks start using vacation time. It’ll be a nice change from nights of the past with record-setting low attendance, especially for fans of baseball as a game in and of itself.
This will be a special season of baseball at Nats Park. The 2012 Nats surpassed expectations and energized a growing fanbase. The 2012 Nats caught the attention of every major sports outlet in the country, television and print publications included. The 2012 Nats are pretty much mostly the 2013 Nats, only the 2013 Nats are expected to be a stronger squad and go deeper into the playoffs.
It’s too early to project where the 2013 Nats will be come October. Will they retain their status as National League East Champions? Will they go on to win their first Nation League Pennant as a team and, therefore, onto their first World Series? There’s only one way to find out and that’s by spending your summer at the Navy Yard watching some of baseball’s finest modern talent.
Rachel moved to DC in the fall of 2005 to study Journalism and Music at American University. When she’s not keeping up with the latest Major League Baseball news, she works on making music as an accomplished singer-songwriter and was even a featured performer/speaker at TEDxDupont Circle in 2012. Rachel has also contributed to The Washington Examiner and MASN Sports’ Nationals Buzz as a guest blogger. See why she loves DC. E-Mail: rachel@welovedc.com.
