Originally written April 9, 2008

First things first - I went to RFK quite a number of times before starting this project. Once ages ago for the Washington Redskins, and several times for the Nationals. I am originally from Northern Virginia, and when I had left for Atlanta, there were no Nationals yet. So I had already put my allegiance with the Braves by the time the Nationals had come into existence in my former stomping grounds. Regardless, it just made my summer trips back home to visit more interesting, with baseball available on the activity menu whenever I was up there.

The first time I ever went to RFK for baseball, there was a little bit of adaptation required. Pretty much for my entire life, I knew RFK as nothing but a football venue, or where large outdoor concerts were also held. Seeing it was a baseball diamond inside of it was something that was a little puzzling; regardless, I was pleased to be able to enjoy the luxury of watching baseball so close to home.

But let's be realistic here - RFK is no baseball park. And it was clearly designed for football; the walls are concrete and about as thick as a bomb shelter, and getting around on all the constant ramps and elevated flooring gets kind of old real quick. But the biggest problem is the fact that baseball is a summer sport, that is played predominantly when the weather reaches 80+ degrees fahrenheit. RFK's thick structure is perfect for football in the winter, because it does such a good job of holding heat in the vicinity; misery for those in the summer.

Furthermore, RFK developed a reputation for being a tremendous pitcher-friendly park, with its cavernous outfield that seemed to go on forever. Nevermind that several Braves players (Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones) had a great hitting percentage there, but for the most part, lots of fans and players alike would balk about the expanse of the place.

But it was RFK, to which that simple fact alone absolves a lot of the criticism that the place gets. It's a place that is a benchmark of Washington D.C. sports, and though not on the levels of history and how rustic a place is, like Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, RFK was still a special place.

The above mentioned game is the first Nationals game I went to, and it had all the makings of a potentially good game; John Smoltz was starting, which always gave hope for a Braves fan. Unfortuantely, there was a massive rain delay of almost two hours, but baseball still occurred that evening. Despite the huge delay, and the constant stream of rain that continued to trickle down throughout the uncomfortable April evening, it was still a blast to watch some baseball in the nation's capitol.

I've been to RFK quite a few times; for Interleague against the Orioles, the "Grand Re-Opening" when Lerner Enterprises took ownership of the team. I went to Opening Day in 2007, where unfortunately the Marlins obliterated the Nationals, and I also went to a couple of the final games that my Braves would ever get to play at RFK. One of the most special things to me, was the simple fact that despite my baseball crazy nowadays, I wasn't that big into it as a kid; having no home team could account for that. So my dad and I never went to any Orioles games or anything. Nothing was more enjoyable to me than being able to take my dad out to the ballpark and enjoy an afternoon game with him.

As of 2008, the Nationals now play in their own park, built especially for them, currently named simply Nationals Park, off of the Anacostia River. But RFK is still a place like no other, and I'm privileged to say that I was able to enjoy the great game while it was there.

Noteable performance(s):   The first time I went to RFK to watch baseball, contract-year Alfonso Soriano decided to go crazy against the Braves, and lit up John Smoltz for two home runs, and then lit up reliever Oscar Villarreal for his third home run of the evening which essentially put the game out of reach. Other great performances I've seen at the old park are Aramis Ramirez's multi-multi-homer games, Miguel Cabrera hitting the most massive homerun I've seen in person, and Tim Hudson sending his farewell to the park by throwing a complete-game shutout.

Game Result (of my first trip):   Washington prevails against Atlanta, 7-3. Soriano had five RBIs, and the injury depleted Braves just couldn't hang on.

Additional Photos:   By the time I started this little project, I had been to RFK quite a number of times. The photos from my first ever trip weren't that great, so the pictures here are a myriad of photos from my numerous trips to RFK, including the first, as well as one of the final games at the park.

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