It ended sooner then a lot of fans and media members would have liked, but for one week, it was beyond cool covering the Nationals and Orioles in the postseason.
Courtesy: Carol Ross Joynt
The atmosphere at both Nationals Park and Camden Yards was so electric and brought me back to the days growing up in the Philadelphia area when the whole region went nuts for each Phillies postseason appearance starring Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw, Pete Rose, Bake McBride and Gary Matthews.
I will never forget the rain delay of 2 hours, 26 minutes before the first playoff game in Baltimore in 15 years. I will also never forget the first postseason game in Nationals history. Absolutely perfect weather for that historical day! I saw a lot of kids for that game. I asked one parent why they took their kids out of school. The answer was classic: “History is a subject in school right? Well the very first Nationals home playoff game is definitely a history lesson.”
As much as I have tried to block it out, I will also never forget the image of the image of champagne being transported from the Nationals clubhouse in the top of the ninth inning to the Cardinals clubhouse in the bottom of the ninth at Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Bizarre is the only adjective I can come up with to describe that moment.
At the end of the day, the Orioles lost to the team that is synonymous with postseason success, the Yankees, and the Nationals lost to the defending world champion Cardinals. Both teams took their opponents the distance before bowing out. I am encouraged by what I saw in both cities and with the young foundation both teams have mixed in with the veteran leadership both teams possess. I really do think that this is the start of something good.
What about the Nationals or the Orioles excites you the most for next season?
