Mike's Review: Nationals Park

To say that we had good seats is a huge understatement. We had the best seats in the ballpark (front row, directly next to the home plate side of the home dugout). We enjoyed a great buffet in the luxurious President's Club. We received a private tour of ballpark, including standing on the field during batting practice. We even got a look at team batting cages, and the live post game press conference. I'll try not to let any of this influence my review.

The Ballpark
Nationals Park is a great looking modern ballpark, with the open concourses and an intimate setting. The backstop is a very pretty stone wall, mostly gray with hints of green, it improves upon their brick counterparts at other stadiums. When you enter through the main gate, you're greeted by statues of players that are very different from everywhere else. These statues are designed to capture motion, such as the motion of a swinging bat or a pitcher in his windup. Some people like it, some people hate it, either way it takes an extra look to figure out what you're seeing the first time. They're located right behind the Red Porch bar and seating area in center field, which has a really nice perspective very close to the field. The upper deck is fairly high above the field, but has an added benefit of a great view of America's Capitol Building.

Oh, and National's Park has beer. Lots of it. Forty different beers on tap, scattered all over the ballpark. You walk along the open concourse and every 25 feet you pass another beer stand, each with different beer choices from the stand before it. And here's a fun fact: all of the beer in the entire stadium is located in one giant refrigerated room - pumped throughout the entire ballpark to supply every bar and stand.
4 / 5


The Game and Fans
The Nationals supplied plenty of offense to top the Giants in this one. There were a few lead changes and it was a competitive game into the ninth. The teams combined to make a few errors, and Tim Lincecum for the Giants would have had a much better outing (and probably a win) if it wasn't for some of those errors. There was a pretty decent attendance of a little over 17 thousand, and with all the Nationals offense there was plenty to cheer about.
3 / 5


There is so much potential for the surrounding area around Nationals Park. It's right on the Anacostia River, but all that's there right now is a bunch of empty lots and a closed concrete company. The area is covered with posters of renderings of what they want the area to look like years down the road, but no time table on it actually starting. They have the right idea, they just need to execute it.
1.5 / 5


Washington DC is a beautiful city. Sorry, a beautiful district. It is filled with museums and monuments, lots to do and pretty streets to explore. It has a good public transportation system and lively nightlife.
5 / 5