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I'll give this a shot.

Pitching: I grew up playing backyard baseball (the computer game) so I thought that the aim of pitching was to throw three strikes and sit the batter down, because I was pretty much able to do this every single time against the computer players. Wrong! I became an actual baseball fan a couple of years ago and have since learned that pitching is basically a game of cat and mouse between pitcher and hitter. Most hitters don't have fast enough reaction times that they can "sit back" on a pitch and wait for it to come to them before they decide whether to swing at it or not; they basically have to make an educated guess based on many factors (pitcher's tendencies, pitch count, the way the defense is shifted, etc.) about what kind of pitch is coming and where. Different pitches have different trajectories and speeds. Curveballs tend to curve downward and are usually much slower than fastballs. Fastballs tend to go in more of a straight line although there are different varieties of fastball that have differing amounts of "run" to them, meaning they have a tendency to move horizontally a bit as well as straight forward. Knuckleballs have little to no rotation, which causes the erratic movement of the pitch. There is a lot more to talk about concerning pitching but I think if you really want to learn about it you should check out some books like this for example.



Nats Players: Bryce is the youngest player on the roster and has the highest ceiling of any of our players. He has the potential to be a super star due to his diverse set of skills. You may have heard the expression "5 tool player" before. The 5 tools of baseball it's referring to are: Hitting for average, Hitting for power, Fielding, Throwing, and Baserunning. Bryce is unusual in that he excels in all 5 of these categories, whereas many pros only excel at 3 or 4 but have significant weaknesses in the other categories. Last year our best batter was Jason Werth, and he's coming out of the gate strong this year as well, going 4 for 5 at the plate last night. In my opinion, the best hitters on our team are (in order): Werth, Bryce, Span, Desmond, Rendon, and Zimmerman. LaRoche had a great year in 2012 but slumped pretty badly in 2013. In terms of up and coming players, Bryce is still young and years away from his prime. Rendon just got called up last year and has filled in at 2nd base since Espinosa had hitting issues last year. Strasburg is still pretty young too, and he's arguably our best pitcher.



Attending games in DC: I haven't actually been to more than a dozen games at Nats park but here are some suggestions I have. Divisional rivalry games are usually really fun, so go see games against the Braves (our most significant rival, at the moment) and the Phillies (used to be our most significant rival but have since fallen on tough times). There are certain teams or marquee players that you'll probably want to see if you can as well. If the Tigers come to play, I'd go see them especially if Verlander or Scherzer is pitching. The Orioles are kind of rivals just because of proximity, so it'd be good to see a game against them as well. I'm a (relatively) poor student at the moment so I just go for nosebleed tickets whenever I go, but seats along the third or first base line are usually pretty desirable and consequently more expensive. I was fortunate enough to get seats behind home plate once through my father's work, and my brother and I caught two foul balls that game. So if you feel like splurging a bit you might consider that area. On the whole it's a really nice park and there aren't too many bad seats, though I recommend avoiding the right field upper decks because you may not be able to see plays in right field from your seats.

Hope this helps!

edited two words

In the book Sixty Feet, Six Inches Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson talk about how the game is played and such. Super awesome book if you haven't read it.

The relevant piece of information in relation to this conversation is that Reggie Jackson says (paraphrase) that if a pitcher can consistently hit that low and away pitch and get him out often, he would start going after it. But if it wasn't 2 strikes, he wasn't even going to swing at a ball away. This was especially easy since he knew with almost certainty that if the pitcher missed and left a ball in, middle-in, or middle, that he would demolish it into the 2nd deck.

Essentially - force the pitcher to beat you instead of getting yourself out by swinging at something that isn't your ideal pitch.

Also, from my college coach perspective: Bryce has gotten good at fouling off pitches that aren't "his pitch" (spoiling) with the intention of getting "his pitch." He's starting to use it more to his advantage, i.e. the walkoff HR at-bat.

Makes sense. Just leaves a huge hole in baseball history, at least that of my formative years and that of much of the Nats fan base. The Nats are basically creating a culture anew since baseball hasn't been in the district in decades. So rather than rely on the memory of general baseball fans in the district, they're starting fresh by trawling the past, which is both false (other teams' history for the Twins and Rangers) and ancient, as most Nats fans aren't old enough to remember when there was baseball in DC.

As far as how the whole thing went down, yeah, that makes total sense. Hopefully when Jonah Keri's new book on the Expos comes out, he can do an event at Nats Park.

You can get them a baseball display case like this, along with an autographed ball or a game-used ball to start their collection: https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Display-UV-Protection-Lockable-CHERRY/dp/B002V0ZZG6/ref=sr_1_22?s=sports-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1468336196&sr=1-22&keywords=baseball+case

Team Yearbook (maybe try to get some autographs on it)

PNats season tickets

Send them for a road game weekend-- buy the tickets and a hotel night. Too bad the series with the O's is on weeknights but the Pirates series might be a nice treat.

Maybe a season ticket holder would sell you a pair of tickets for them and redeem their season ticket rewards points for the Batting Practice Experience, or the ballpark tour

Send 'em for a weekend of Spring Training games next year

Just to be safe, I ordered two 12x12x6 clear bags and will just use those. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAJELJ3?pf_rd_p=76bd99fd-409f-46a4-9ff6-b66b5703e95b&pf_rd_r=AYSH4BX5S90HM5RS99KJ

Better safe than having to scramble for one of those lockers on a bobblehead day.

🤜🤛Appreciate it! I got the newspaper frames from Amazon. They fit the WaPo papers perfectly and very sturdy. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073LP2XXX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_lT90DbV8ZAVEA

At Virginia Tech Football games, they have a strict bag policy as well. It has to be clear and not larger than a certain size. I know MOST people can just leave their stuff in the car at games there though.

Something like this would probably be okay as well. Just use on game days: https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Bag-Stadium-Approved-Games-Cross-Body/dp/B0776VDZBW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=Clear+bag&qid=1551108598&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1

Some cool ideas:

1. Game Ball
   
2. Signed Game 7 HR photo from Howie Kendrick
   
3. Decals - Simple and cheap yet pretty cool
   
4. Blu-Ray Set of the entire WS

Agreed. But I think the best we could get for him was a box of big league chew.

Big League Chew Grape Flavored Bubble Gum https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q6J1YO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Vft3CbJN82T4G

I grabbed this a couple months ago, pretty good quality.

http://www.amazon.com/MLB-Washington-Nationals-3-by-5-Foot-Flag/dp/B0085SL684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408506534&sr=8-1&keywords=nationals+flag

Ok maybe take with a grain of salt cause this is from reviewers on Amazon but the difference seems to be the collector's set has the WS in it's entirety AND comes with the Nat's radio broadcast option. The singular DVD/Blu Ray seems to just be postseason and highlights. Hope this helps everyone!

I prefer the Sangean DT-180 AM/FM radio. I go to 30+ games a year. Listened to the game on the DT-180 at each one since the beginning of the 2014 season. Works beautifully. Instantaneous play-by-play. It's difficult to enjoy a game the same way without it.

Sangean DT-180 AM / FM Pocket Radio https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000G6M91G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_h5wSFTXqatbsm


Some tips using it:

• make sure to use the "lock switch" feature on the back of the radio to prevent accidentally button pressing in your pocket.
  
  
• the DT-180 has an automatic turn-off after 90 mins. It will happen at least once in a normal game. No need to worry. Just turn it back on.
  
  
• take batteries out if you know it will be a while before your next game (otherwise you'll get corrosion in the terminals). Place used batteries in small ziplock with a "used" post-it in it. If you end up with corrosion, you can easily clean it with a Qtip dabbed in vinegar.
  
  
  

Maybe just pick up a cheap radio? Do they still sell those?

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-ICFP26-Portable-Radio-Black/dp/B012F0DGYE/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1491591981&sr=1-7

But I think the audio-only MLB at-bat is pretty cheap. $20?

I've used this for years and the reception is great.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0012YHQVE?pc_redir=1411930653&robot_redir=1

The wonderful thing about America is there is a totally different one for less than $22

https://www.amazon.com/Washington-Nationals-Pangea-Brands-ProToast/dp/B00TYN4Y7O

Obligatory off season plug for this bio on Mike Coolbaugh

Spin Williams and Doug Harris are two names I see praised a lot by the FO and by players. Props

or do it yourself every game like I do