Washington – As he walked through the home clubhouse, making sure to shake hands with each new baseball player in his adopted hometown, President Bush made it a point to impress Vinny Castilla.
The president conversed with Castilla, the Washington Nationals’ third baseman, in English and Spanish. He posed for a picture and autographed a ball. He asked Castilla what part of Mexico he was from. When Castilla gave him the region, Bush was ready with the city.
“He knew I was from Oxaca,’ Castilla said. “He knew.’
A man doesn’t get to be president by not knowing when to throw his best pitch. For the first time in 34 years, our nation’s capital and its politicians have their own major-league baseball team. Castilla made sure the District of Columbia wouldn’t have to wait another day for its first home win. Having been through a similar opening 12 years ago in Denver, Castilla doubled, tripled and homered in his first three at-bats Thursday to lead the Nationals past the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 before a sold-out gathering of 45,596 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.
“That was an unbelievable experience,’ Castilla said. “The excitement of today’s game. Taking a picture with the president. All the people in the stands. That’s an experience I’ll never forget.’
Even a few blocks from his own White House backyard, the president couldn’t top Washington’s new man of the moment.
While his former team, the Rockies, stumble their way into their next homestand that begins tonight, Castilla has moved on to become Washington’s first hero. By the time Bush left his suite adorned with a presidential seal after the fifth inning, Castilla was halfway to the cycle with two RBIs and a run scored.
The president missed Castilla’s home run in the sixth that drove in two more. At that point, it was Castilla 5, Diamondbacks 0.
“I miss Denver, I miss being able to see my family everyday,’ said Castilla, who has lived in Littleton since 1998. “But I’m very happy here. I can’t complain.
“I’m on a pretty good team, and they wanted me.’
Castilla was robbed of a cycle his fourth time up when he was hit by reliever Lance Cormier on the first pitch. The crowd, which shook the upper deck when Castilla tripled in the first two runs, reverberated boos through Cormier’s ears the rest of the inning.
“I was a little upset because I wanted to hit for the cycle and after he hit me I knew I would never get a chance again,’ Castilla said.
Even had Castilla not come through with his magical performance, this was one game where playing the game may have been more meaningful than winning it.
The District last had a big-league club in 1971 when 6-foot-8 Frank Howard was the American League’s defending home run and RBI champion and the Senators’ only all-star. Following that season, owner Bob Short moved the franchise to the blazing heat of Texas, while the baseball die-hards had little choice but to turn their attention north to the Baltimore Orioles.
Much to the dismay of Orioles owner Peter Angelos, Baltimore again has market competition. Only this time, the re-christened Nationals figure to be a legitimate threat. As in big-market threat.
The population of the District suburbs in Virginia and Maryland has boomed since the Senators played here, as has the per-capita income and corporate structure. Already, 1.9 million tickets have been sold for the 2005 home schedule with season tickets exceeding 21,000.
“The business world has completely changed in 34 years,’ Nationals interim general manager Jim Bowden said.
To help celebrate baseball’s return, Bush became the 12th U.S. president to throw out the first pitch at a Washington home opener.
Known for his belt-high accuracy and zip, Bush didn’t have it this time, making an arching throw that caused catcher Brian Schneider to stand up from his crouch.
“No, it was a strike,’ Schneider said. “It might have been Frank Howard’s strike zone, but it was a strike.’
In their previous two years, the Nationals were known as the Montreal Expos, an ownerless, vagabond collection of young talent that played its home games before sparse crowds in Canada and Puerto Rico.
Compare that with their present situation. An ownership search is on, Washington is home and the win pushed the Nationals into the National League East lead.
It was a memorable new beginning for our nation’s capital, where for one night, Castilla was bigger than the president who schmoozed him.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
