It was a Saturday afternoon, and I was in Greenbelt, Maryland on some business that never took place, due to circumstances that were apparently way beyond my control. So, with my business plans for the day up in smoke, I decided to take the rest of the day, and go sightseeing. One of the places I knew that I wanted to go was to Nationals Park, being that Washington, D.C. was only 15 minutes from where I was in Greenbelt. So, off I went to see one of the newer ballparks in MLB, at the tender age of 1.

When I got there, it just so happened that the Nationals were offering a 90-minute stadium tour(priced at $15), so in I went. What is unique to this franchise is because of the city they are in, the Nats have made great efforts to recognize their presidential history, and how it connects to baseball. Every team has its own history, but with Washington, it goes back to the Senators, and even further than that, back into the late 1800s.

For example, every U.S. president in the modern era, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, has thrown out a first pitch on Opening Day, either in Baltimore or Washington. I'm sure that Barack Obama has already cleared his schedule. As a matter of fact, the Nationals have a special area in the stadium, specifically for government officials, senators, ambassadors, and other political figures who want to watch a ballgame, including enough space left over for the Secret Service.

Oval - as in oval office, is also a theme in this young ballpark, as the locker rooms are oval, and not rectangular, which gives each player the same amount of locker space. Even the bars at the club restaurants have oval shapes.

One of the unique things I see with Nationals Park that I have yet to see elsewhere(this is my 6th park I have visited) is inside the Presidents Club, fans will have access to watching players inside the tunnel, taking batting practice. I'm actually surprised that the players would go for that, given how much players cherish their privacy off the field these days.

For me, one of the highlights of the tour was to see the Negro League exhibit, featuring Washington's team, the Homestead Grays, winners of 10 Negro National League championships, including 9 in a row. Two of the highlighters in those days were Cool Papa Bell, and Josh Gibson.

Another thing you don't normally see at other ballparks is a commemoration of players on other teams, such as Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, and so on. However, the Nationals break that mold, and pay tribute to several players from other organizations. I thought that was very interesting.

So, if you do get a chance to visit Nationals Park, I think you will like it. As for the team on the field, that's a subject for a different day.