Two weeks ago, Sunny and I visited Washington D.C. for the first time. She’s doing a great job of chronicling our trip over at her blog, but I wanted to post about catching a ball game at Nationals Park while we were there. All told, this was ballpark #24 for me; I’ve been to 17 current stadiums and 7 now defunct ballparks. (I’m still working on a way to get up to Fenway to catch a game sometime soon.)

The Nationals Park was great; the Metro drops you off just a block from the stadium entrance; the staff was extremely helpful; and, unfortunately for Nats ownership, you can pretty much pick where you want to sit since they’re aren’t more than a handful of fans at any given home game! Seriously, the place is beautiful and the lines of sight are great throughout the park. It has all the amenities that your modern ballparks have (there’s even a Build-A-Bear shop in the outfield concourse) but the main attraction for us is always the game itself.

One of the non-baseball-related highlights at the game for me was bumping into George Will in the Nats Team Store. Oddly enough, he was looking at the hoodies. Didn’t see that coming. I told him I had a copy of Bunts and that I admired his work.

This is me with the militant-looking Honest Abe mascot. After posing for 10 minutes with every infant and toddler in the concourse, I think he was a little annoyed that a grown man asked to get his pic with him.

For the record, here are the current ballparks I’ve been to, in order of favorite to least favorite:

1. New Busch, St. Louis (obviously)
2. Coors Field, Denver (tough to beat the majestic Rocky Mountains out there in the distance)
3. Comerica Park, Detroit (perfect blend of tradition and aesthetics)
4. Wrigley, Chicago (a great place to watch the Cubs lose)
5. Camden Yards, Baltimore (I think this is Sunny’s favorite that we’ve been to)
6. PETCO Park, San Diego (it has personality and, hey, who could argue with San Diego’s climate?)
7. Nationals Park, D.C.
8. PNC Park, Pittsburgh
9. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati
10. Turner Field, Atlanta
11. U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago (would be lower on the list, but for my personal guided tour and the chance to get down on the field. Thanks, Lenny, wherever you are.)
12. Angel Stadium, Anaheim
13. Rangers Ballpark, Arlington
14. Minute Maid Park, Houston (I hate that stupid flagpole in center. Almost as much as I hate the home team.)
15. Progressive Field, Cleveland (I was really disappointed in this one.)
16. Chase Field, Phoenix (not a huge fan of baseball indoors or swimming at the game)
17. Dodger Stadium, L.A. (we went prior to the McCourt remodeling project. I hear it’s better now.)