Metro Me Out to the Ball Game


 


DC's getting a baseball team. I'm looking forward to this - it will be great to be able to go to a ball game on a weeknight without taking the whole day off to do it.

Predictably, Peter Angelos, the Orioles' owner, has played hardball and gotten some concessions from Major League Baseball. I've found this more than a bit irritating, personally. Chicago has two teams, New York has two teams. He doesn't think that Baltimore and the entire DC Metropolitan area can support two teams? If he doesn't, he's ignored the region's growth. If he does, he's being disingenuous and greedy. I like his ball field - we've seen some great games at Camden Yards and had some really good times. But I'm not sure I'm crazy about supporting him after the hissy-fits he's thrown over this issue.

Now, one of the big controversies is picking a new name for what will have been the Montreal Expos. Thirty-three years ago, the Senators left DC for Texas. So, many want to see the new team take the field as the Senators once more. Others probably feel that readopting the old name might be some sort of bad luck or bad karma for keeping a ball team here. In this NPR essay (audio link), Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown suggests a name that really reflects the "heart" of the region - not the Presidents, the Senators, or any other legislative name. He proposes the Lobbyists.

Hm. Ick. Other ideas?
Posted: Thursday - September 30, 2004 at 10:54 AM         | |

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