Washington Nationals World Series Videos

The Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series. Living in Northern Virginia, this is kind of a big deal. Of course, I also saw a guy wearing a Steelers long-sleeve T-shirt on the Metro this morning, so maybe it's not a big deal for everyone.* Anyway, if you're a baseball fan, I think you have to appreciate this series and the Nationals. The road team won every game of this 7-game series which has never happened before in major league baseball, the NHL, or the NBA. Juan Soto just turned 21 and is about to become a superstar. Stephen Strasburg represented San Diego State well too. Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick are also awesome. I thought I would share a few videos to celebrate the Nationals.

This is from the final out of the game.



I'm really happy for Daniel Hudson, the Nationals pitcher who got the final out. I'm also really happy that there is a net behind home plate and down the third base line. That glove being thrown at approximately 200 miles per hour could have really hurt someone. Anyway, Jeff Passan's book "The Arm" followed Hudson after he went through Tommy John surgeries. After reading this, I've rooted for the guy, even though he struggled in Pittsburgh.

The next video is one that I took from Washington's FOX affiliate. I apologize in advance that the sound is poor. I love the guy saying, "I don’t know how I feel right now. I feel amazing.” Then, watch how he interacts with the camera after they go to someone else. And by someone else, I mean the woman who has been a die-hard Nationals fan from all the way back in 2012.



Finally, one of the reasons why this team is fun to watch is Gerardo Parra and his walk-up music of Baby Shark. (Another reason is because Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth are no longer on the team.) This is a video of Parra at bat during an August 30th game I attended with The Moose and Pedro Tulo.



Congrats to the Nats!


* Full disclosure. That person was me!

Bryce Harper Will Be Overpaid

Bryce Harper is a good baseball player, but not a great baseball player like he and others think he is. Yes, he was great during his 2015 National League MVP season and yes you would probably like to have him on your team. The question is at what price. There has been talk that Harper seeks a deal of $300 million or more when he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2018 season. Someone may pay this. It's the baseball owners' money, so they have every right to spend it as they please. If I was a baseball owner or GM, I would never pay Harper this though. (In full disclosure, I cut out coupons and regularly look for discounts and deals, so I may not be a good example.)

Here's why:

Game Ender!#ChopOn pic.twitter.com/GuZwNZWKlm

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 8, 2018

When the ball was hit, the score was tied at 1-1 in the 9th inning against a team the Nationals are chasing in the standings. This should have been a double with runners on 2nd and 3rd and the Braves taking a 2-1 lead. Instead, Harper seemed nonchalant as he threw the ball to home plate.

I'm sure you're thinking, Harper didn't have a chance to get the out at home, so it doesn't really matter. Fine. What about WAR, or wins above replacement? Harper currently has a WAR of 0.9 which is good for tied for 95th...in the National League! Todd Frazier, Alen Hanson, Gorkys Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe, and Adam Frazier are all better than Harper in this category. And none of these players are going to earn $300 million!

If you want a guy to hit home runs, Harper (tied for 3rd in the NL) is your guy. If you want a guy to get on base, Harper (12th in the NL), is solid. If you want a guy who strikes out a lot, Harper (4th in the NL) is also your guy. For $25 million or more a year, I'll pass.


Photo by Patrick McDermott/ Getty Images

Seeing A No-Hitter With My Son

One of my dreams/bucket list items is to attend a no-hitter in person. In July 2001, I saw Todd Ritchie (yes, Todd Ritchie) go 8 1/3 innings before giving up a single. After seeing probably over 100 baseball games in my lifetime, that was the closest I've come to seeing a no-hitter. Meanwhile, I took my son (The Moose, age 4) to his first baseball game on Saturday night. He has now attended one single baseball game and has witnessed a no-hitter (and almost the 22nd perfect major league game since 1900). He has no idea that this is a big deal. On to my notes and thoughts on the game and taking The Moose to his first game.

- Breaking news: Max Scherzer is really, really good. Maybe that's why the Nationals paid him over $200 million. I'm a Pirates fan and definitely wanted the Bucs to win, but I can appreciate an amazing pitching performance and found myself rooting for a perfect game in the top of the 9th.

- After the first inning, The Moose told me that he wanted to go home. That's when I went into food mode. I offered him a fruit bar that I had in my bag and then we quickly went to the concession stand to get french fries and a Sprite. He loved the Sprite and made it through the rest of the game (sitting on my lap for nearly all of it) without any complaints.

- In either the 7th inning or top of the 8th inning, I looked at the scoreboard and mentioned to my friend that we were watching a perfect game. We knew it was a no-hitter but had no idea we were watching a potential perfect game until then.

- I did a terrible job of taking pictures during the game. Really, I just wanted to make sure my kid was happy and that I didn't lose him in the crowd of over 40,000. I did take this picture of several members of the Pirates walking to the bullpen before the game. Plus, both Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen sat in my section!

- I also should have taken a picture of someone wearing a Pirates' Garrett Jones jersey.

- Unwritten rules in baseball are stupid. In the 8th inning, the Nats shifted against Pedro Alvarez. Pedro could have bunted towards the deserted third base line to reach on a single, but that's not permitted in baseball. Well, if it was a 1-0 game, maybe that would have been a little acceptable, but baseball folks would have gone insane if Pedro did this on Saturday. If you think the reaction to Jose Tabata reaching on a hit-by-pitch was crazy, Pedro would have been vilified even more.

- The Nationals had a promotion on Saturday where after the game, Seniors could stroll the bases. During the game, I talked with my friend about the fact I tweaked my knee (for the second time in a month) earlier in the day working as a soccer referee), probably will need bifocals soon and that I recently went to the dentist and learned that I have receding gums. Basically, I could have been eligible to run the bases!

- When we got home, all The Moose talked about to my wife was chocolate syrup. Naturally, she had not idea what he was talking about. I mean why would there be chocolate syrup at a baseball game? Here's the answer:



MASN's Dan Kolko did not look happy about Jayson Werth dumping chocolate syrup on him. I'd bet $10 that Werth doesn't pay the dry-cleaning bill.

- The Moose wasn't very impressed by the Presidents/Pierogi race. I think he found the characters a little scary.

- I'd like to give the Nationals credit for posting the artist and song title for each hitter's walk-up music on the scoreboard. That was a nice touch particularly since I didn't know many songs.

- Quick rant: I love keeping ticket stubs of sporting events/concerts I attend. However, there are less and less ticket stubs these days and you generally print off your tickets now. Even Nats season ticket holders get a card that they swipe or scan at the gate instead of receiving individual tickets. Here is part of my ticket from Saturday's game that is now folded up on a regular 8.5 x 11 piece of paper.

- I don't ever want to drive through a hurricane, but I feel like I got a taste of what it's like to do so going home after the game. There were massive thunderstorms on Saturday evening with extremely heavy rain and lightning everywhere. I'm glad that the game was at 4:05 since a 7:05 game would have been postponed.

Here's more about the game:

The Washington Post (here and here

People were mad at Tabata (also The Washington Post)

Dejan Kovacevich wrote a really good piece in support of Tabata. [DK on Pittsburgh Sports]

Clinton Yates agreed with DK. [Washington Post again]

Josh Yohe of DK on Pittsburgh Sports
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ESPN

Video of the top of the 9th [MLB]

The Worst Haircut In The Four Major Sports

This is a guest post from blogger Mark Stevens who (I believe) is no relation to former Pittsburgh Penguin Kevin Stevens or Shadoe Stevens. I'm really dating myself with these references.

Hair can define a person, for better or worse. Athletes who are constantly in the spotlight can have their hair become a major topic of discussion not only at the game, but on the internet. Here is one player from every major professional sport who is making headlines with what’s on top of their head.

Elfrid Payton

The rookie point guard for the Orlando Magic has been having a pretty solid year. Even though the team is not winning consistently, he looks like a guy who could be a major factor for them in the upcoming years. Most people know him as the guy with the weird haircut. There is really nobody in professional sports with a haircut like him, and therefore it really does not have a name. It first grew his hair out with the rest of his high school teammates, and now he just goes with it.

Bryce Harper

One of baseball’s most promising youngsters has been known to mess around with hair styles. When he grows it out and goes with some sort of a faux hawk, it doesn’t exactly win a lot of style points. Maybe it helps with his own brand, but the hair hasn’t helped him shake the reputation of being a bit of a prima donna.

Charlie Whitehurst

When your nickname is Clipboard Jesus, it isn’t exactly flattering. The lifelong backup received some playing time for the Tennessee Titans this year, and almost instantly people were cracking jokes on how he looks. As you would expect, his long hair and facial hair makes him look like common depictions of Jesus.

Scott Hartnell (Sean's Note: Hartnell is my second least favorite hockey player of all time. I'm not a fan of even having him mentioned on my blog.)

The veteran left winger has cleaned up his hair from time to time, but when he lets it grow out, he has a carrot top afro with a matching beard. There are actually a lot of hockey players with pretty nice hair out there, but Hartnell is one who just lets it do its own thing. Now that he is 32 years of age, perhaps his crazy hair days are a thing of the past.

If you haven’t yet checked out Daily Fantasy Sports, we’re offering a 100% deposit bonus on your first deposit for Sean’s Ramblings readers. Click here to get started today with your FanDuel promo code.

Be Cool Pirates Fans

I attended two Pittsburgh Pirates-Washington Nationals games this week at Nationals Park. Unlike going to Pirates games in DC since the Nats moved from Montreal, it felt different this year based on the team’s success. Wearing Pirates gear to a Nats game was an amazing experience over the past few days. We were there to celebrate the second best team in baseball, a team that looks like a legitimate playoff team. After 20 years of losing seasons, we bonded over Gerrit Cole, Pedro Alvarez, Francisco Liriano, Josh Harrison (yes, Josh Harrison) and the rest of the Pirates. However, some Pirates fans took things a little too far.

During Thursday’s game, a Pirates fan a few rows in front of me in the left field stands was being quite obnoxious in the finals innings. He may have had one beer too many, but that’s not really an excuse. In the 8th inning, the guy yelled to Bryce Harper that that the star Nationals outfielder effing sucks. He did not yell effing. We’ll set aside the fact that Harper does not suck. Every Pirates fan would love Harper in Pittsburgh, especially if the team could trade Travis Snider and Jose Tabata for him. (Please excuse me as I dream of a Marte-McCutchen-Harper outfield. Okay, I’m back) Being that this was an afternoon game with kids around, this didn’t go over well. Although a few Nats fans didn’t take too kindly to the comment and confronted him, I never heard any insults or threats. They simply told him to knock it off. As the inning continued, the guy started insulting the Nats and pointing out how far back the Nats are behind the Pirates in the Wild Card race. Some of his friends talked him down and tried to make peace and things were somewhat civil through the rest of the game (though they guy rubbed it in a little when the Pirates tied the game in the top of the 9th; he wasn’t there for Harper’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th).

One of the Nats fans who confronted the guy is a friend of a friend. She is a Nats season ticket-holder who I just met at the game, and I apologized letting her know that the guy does not represent Pirates fans. She appreciated the gesture and indicated that I’ve been the only nice Pirates fan sitting near her during the series. While I found there to be plenty of nice Pirates fans at the games on Tuesday and Thursday, I’m sure there were a few Pirates fans that were not as nice. Therefore, this message is for all Pirates fans attending away games, sitting near opposing fans at PNC Park or even talking with friends, coworkers or random folks at bars that are fans of other National League teams. Being enthusiastic about the Pirates is expected. It’s been a long 20 years. Share your happiness and feel free discuss Cutch’s greatness. Explain your concerns about Jason Grilli’s injury and the bench. Just keep it clean in front of kids and don’t disparage the opposing team.

Let’s Go Bucs!

Quick Celebrate Fairfax 2012 Recap

Welcome to your brief recap of the 31st annual Celebrate Fairfax even though Flavor Flav constantly referred to this being the 19th annual Celebrate Fairfax. Flavor Flav also decided to narrate Friday night's fireworks.



The 41 seconds of Flav describing the fireworks was entertaining. Of course, there's another video on YouTube appropriately titled (even if the name is incorrect) "Flava Flav narrates fireworks, and then it gets weird." It's a 17 minute video with a few swear words in the 11-12 minute mark or so, meaning that you probably don't want to play this at work. Regardless, I doubt that you'll make it that long.

Meanwhile, I was extremely excited to share an exclusive picture of Young MC wearing a Bryce Harper jersey until Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog scooped me. Oh well. This is a better picture of Young MC than anything on The Post’s website, though the comments there are much better.



Otherwise, Pat Benatar and The Legwarmers were both great; I think that carnival workers keep the cigarette companies in business; I did not have funnel cake, but the gyros were terrific; and I think a passionate (and/or slightly crazy) woman hit on me. Just your typical weekend!

Photo via @bkhuna16