Baseball's Tale of Two Cities: Washington Nationals Rising

The Washington Nationals are now the premier baseball franchise in the Mid-Atlantic region. On this evening when #1 draft pick, Steven Strasberg debuted for the Nationals pitching a brilliant seven inning outing yielding two runs on a homer and striking out fourteen batters, the upstarts in the nation’s capital are clearly the team on the move and worthy of attention. The Orioles meanwhile were playing the archrival Yankees, giving up the lead in the first inning en route to a 12-7 defeat. While the inevitable happened last week, firing embattled manager, Dave Trembley, they lost their first two against Boston before turning around a win, and then tonight’s fiasco.

Considering the Orioles and Nationals could have been seen in similar circumstances, the Nationals having the worst record in baseball and the Orioles the worst in the American league, the Nationals are moving forward while the Orioles so far are moving backwards.

The big picture dynamics favor the Nationals. The Washington area is a bigger media draw, but given the Orioles close proximity, it’s not that big of a disadvantage. Vector the driving distance from around the Upper Chesapeake region and see how accessible Camden Yards is. Of course, the Nationals have a sophisticated subway system leading to many suburban destinations working for them, while the Orioles have the light rail that lets off right at the Stadium connecting Glen Burnie and Hunt Valley to the ballpark. The Baltimore metro brings in fans from Owings Mills to a couple blocks north of the stadium. However, when it comes to highway access, there is no comparison, Baltimore wins with ease. The two parks, a 38 mile drive apart, are very different access points. Camden Yards is an easy dog leg off of the mighty I-95. Washington exists in perpetual gridlock, with the closest big highway access, the archaic Anacostia Freeway across the river from the ballpark.

Fans will endure the traffic for great baseball, and the Nationals are infinity more appealing as the summer of 2010 heats up. They appear on the move and the players play with lots of free spirited energy. The Orioles look like sheep heading to slaughter.