What a way to end a baseball game! What a way to start a baseball season! What a way to open a new ballpark! When it comes to baseball Sunday night in Washington DC was the way things ought to be!

I got home from work about 9:00PM. I sat down and turned into the first ever baseball game from the brand spanking new ballpark in Washington DC. The third inning was just about to begin. The Nationals had a 2-0 lead on the Atlanta Braves. ESPN’s Jon Miller and Joe Morgan were just about to welcome a special guest to the booth, President George Bush. No matter how you feel about him politically it was good to have the President of the United States there. Because this night was about baseball and Miller and Morgan knew that too. This is why they are the best broadcast team on TV.

They kept their questions to the President light. They talked about his years owning the Texas Rangers. Morgan kidded Bush about not hiring him when he was an owner. Then they had some fun picking on the President about throwing out the first pitch. They even showed a few replays and used their strike zone feature. The President joined in the fun by saying that his pitch was high, but he did make it to the plate. Unlike his father who bounced one of his first pitches. When asked about this the President made fun of himself by quoting what many people think; “That I’m full of hot air anyway.” After some laughing Bush said that the key was to warming before hand. He then told a funny story about advice the he once received from Derek Jeter. “Just throw it over the plate,” Jeter said.

This opened the door for Miller and Morgan to turn a little serious. They discussed throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium after 9-11, and The Mitchell Report. From there they went to the t-ball tournament that is held every year on the White House lawn. In the middle of this discussion the President called the first homerun ever in that park by Atlanta’s Chipper Jones. Even Miller commented on how appropriate it was that the President of the United States should call the first homerun ever at the new DC field.

After the President left the broadcast booth the game moved along quickly thanks to Atlanta pitcher Tim Hudson. He retired 19 batters after giving up two runs and three hits in the first inning. I could not help thinking about my Dad. He loved a good pitch, two to one, baseball game. He loved baseball, and the traditions that came with it. My Father also didn’t mind some of the changes that happened if it made the game better. It surprised me that he liked the wildcard and inter-league play. My Dad also liked that the season began with a national television game on Sunday night. I remember one year it fell on Easter Sunday. That evening as my father and I watched the game we had chocolate along with our beers and peanuts. I guess what made it special was the conversations we had while the game was on. I really missed that while watching the game alone last night.

I tried to imagine what my father thought of the season opening up on Tuesday morning in Japan. I don’t think he would have had a problem with them playing games there, but not the opening game of the season. “Opening day should be in America,” my father would probably have said. Dad would have commented on how they could have played a series there in the middle of the season. Just give two teams the whole week to do it. They could have traveled to Japan, play three games, and then came home. Enough time to run some clinics and get use to the time change. My Father went to China a few times for business. There is no reason baseball player could not do it too. They travel all the time anyway. The owners could make up the lost games by playing a couple of day/night doubleheaders. Even a few free games would not kill them. This would make it up to the fans for the lost games. The owners would make some of the money up in concession stands.

Just then the game got real interesting. The Braves tied the game in the top of the 9th on a pass ball. Then in the bottom of the 9th, after two outs, the Nationals won it. Ryan Zimmerman smashed a homerun. You could not have written a better script. Even if you were a Braves fan you could not have been that disappointed. If Atlanta had to give up one baseball game, than this was the one to give away. Something just felt so right about this. A team wins their first game, in their brand new stadium, with a homerun in the bottom of the 9th. After the game I just looked up into the heavens and said, “Dad, this is the way things ought to be."

Welcome to the 2008 baseball season everyone; it should be a lot of fun.