DC United

Day 3 on the road with the Anderson Monarchs: Game Day #1!

Only our second night, at the Howard Johnson’s in Hyattsville, MD, brought some much needed rest after a long, hot day in DC. As I gazed into the parking lot in the morning, I noticed our bus parked next to a significantly bigger distant relative. Just another reminder of the time warp we are experiencing.

Today’s itinerary was a tour of the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy and then a game against one of the Nat’s Academy Teams.

The Nationals YBA is an impressive $17 Million complex with all-turf fields (except for the mounds) and a building with meeting rooms, classrooms, a teaching kitchen, and a batting tunnel with four long cages. The facility is an impressive commitment to the future of the game.

Monarch mighty righty Myles Eaddy lashes out off the tee

Monarchs players took BP and got some hitting tips from the Nats coaches before the game. They also got to chat with Nat’s starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who stopped by and spoke with the kids, then spent several innings in each dugout.

I met Scherzer only briefly before, shooting him for an SI Cover this past March. He was a relaxing antidote to a young, much more cautious Bryce Harper who posed with him. I was amazed to see Scherzer seek out the kids, and engage them in genuine baseball talk.

Playing the game at the major league level must require a strong love of the game, but I still wonder how the players keep the fire burning….after all, you do anything long enough, especially under work-pressure, and it does become a job to some degree. Scherzer seemed anxious to talk baseball, even prodding the kids into conversation.

Scherzer, who started in the DC dugout, changed sides right after a particularly awful defensive inning by the Monarchs. Botched rundown plays led to a few runs and heads were down as they came into the dugout. Scherzer moved right in and sat between the players. Soon he was talking baseball with them…it was a perfect touch at the right moment.

The Monarchs took advantage of several walks, timely hitting, and some aggressive base running (and freestyle sliding) to build a huge lead, eventually winning the game 14-3. Jack Rice closed out the win, as three Monarchs pitchers, and some solid defense, kept the hard hitting DC lineup to just three runs.

Jack Rice closes out the game

DC pitchers struggled with their command and the Monarchs made them pay

The all-turf field made for some interesting base running by the Monarchs including this slide by Mo'ne.

Carter Davis was a rare base path out on this play, on an exceptional play by the DC catcher.

Our trip to Richmond, VA gave us our final taste of DC hospitality…beltway traffic! Gridlocked for miles, the bus slowly grew silent as the UNO games died out and Monarchs started falling asleep.

In Richmond we were greeted by our Saturday morning opponents from the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League. They hosted a dinner for the Monarchs at our Hampton Inn, which after almost 10 hours since breakfast, was the best Chick-fil-A I ever had!

I ran into Monarchs manager Steve Bandura in the lobby later that night, and found out that the media requests were starting to come in heavy. The sweet spot of the trip is coming up next week with stops in Atlanta; Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, in Alabama; and Jackson, MS. All critical, often violent locations in the civil rights history of the sixties…and all the more timely in light of the South Carolina racial shooting dominating the news now.

Can baseball again be a catalyst for, at least, conversation about these events, that clearly are still part of the American fabric? It’s a lot to ask from a group of teenagers, but hanging around these kids, I think they are up to the task.