Down in DC: A Delayed Date with the Nationals
Washington Nationals
Specifics:
Nationals Park
New York Mets @ Washington Nationals
Date of Game: Sunday, September 27, 2026
Time of Game: 3:05PM/1:05PM/2:05PM (rain delays changed the start time)
Final score: Mets-4, Nationals-6
Seat: HP119 Row K Seat 3
Backstory
As we are closing in on the last 5 MLB stadiums to visit, the next one to cross off our our list was a visit to Nationals Park in Washington, DC. The plans for this visit morphed many, many times. Originally, I had plans for us to drive down on Saturday and see the game the same day. Then, I thought that maybe breaking the drive into two days would be better, so we weren’t too tired to enjoy a 4:005PM game on Saturday. I even reserved a hotel room in southern NJ for Friday night before to ease our drive on Saturday. As the days approached, and it became a solid plan that I’d drive, we opted to return to the original plan. I canceled the Friday hotel reservation and we set an early morning alarm for Saturday morning to attend the game later that afternoon.
***Storm Warning***
A storm for the east coast was approaching, it was unclear as to whether Washington, DC or the NY coast would be affected. What was clear was that coastal roads were a no-no. With the plan to get out of the NYC area early on Saturday, I went to sleep early the night before. Overnight I received a text that the baseball game for Saturday, September 26th had been re-scheduled to 12:15PM due to possible inclement weather. This completely derailed our plans for catching the Saturday game. Luckily, my partner had not purchased tickets yet. So, our plans shifted yet again, and we’d see the Nats play on Sunda. On the bright side, we were able to take our time driving. The roads were quiet, as we left New York City, with the rain growing more consistent as we left New Jersey.
Game Day
Since we were already staying at the Courtyard by Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard, which is a short walk to the stadium, and the game was at 3:05PM, we had plenty of time to check out some of the city, before the game. Well, so we thought. The game was changed to 1:05PM due to possible inclement weather. This limited how deeply we’d get into our sightseeing, but we were still able to walk through a Smithsonian museum.
We zipped back to Nationals Stadium and arrived at the gates a little after noon. We were met with a sign that said that the game was delayed due to rain, womp womp. On the concourse, we saw a crowd of people surrounding four costumed puppet-like caricatures of former US presidents. I liked that the stadium/team incorporated former Presidents into their culture, that makes a lot of sense for Washington DC. Next on our list, now that we’ve arrived, was picking up souvenir ice cream helmets. As we approached the gate where our seats were, there was a South Mountain Creamery concession stand. They even advertised ice cream helmets on their sign. Score! There was no line, double score! With our ice cream souvenir helmets in hand, we headed over to our seats, but we were stopped by the usher. No one was allowed in the seating area due to a rain delay.
Well, that was a disappointment. I had really hoped to get comfortable in our seats and look at the field while I enjoyed my ice cream but that wasn’t happening. Instead, we stood on the concourse near the entrance to our seats and finished our ice cream, then washed out the helmets. On my third request to be seated (I didn’t want to be annoying, I just wanted to sit), it was explained to us that we could sit, but it was still raining and the seats were wet. The usher asked why we wanted to sit in the rain, and I responded, I’m tired of standing. Truly, there were no seats to be found near the concession areas.
Our seats were a bit wet, but it wasn’t really raining, it was more like mist. Shortly after we sat, the ground crew started to prepare the field for the game to start. The game started around 2:00 PM. For awhile we had neighbors sitting to the left of us, and then around the 2nd inning the two seats to the right of me were occupied but they only stayed a few innings. They had already left by the time the “Presidential race” in the field had ended. I think that is in the 4th inning. Our section was reasonably full during the game, but other sections seemed super empty.
About the Game
Once the players took to the field, there was action at the plate. Both teams scored a run in the first inning. The Mets jumped ahead and scored three more runs in the 2nd inning. Two home runs, one of which sent a runner over home plate. This brought the score up to 4 Mets and 1 Nats. But the Nats weren’t taking this last game of the season lightly, they chugged in a run in the bottom of the 2nd, with a double then tied up the game in the bottom of the 3rd with a home run, and a single that sent a runner past home. Another homer for the Nats at the bottom of the 5th, pulls them ahead by one run. The Nats weren’t finished though, in the bottom of the 7th a single to center sends a runner over the plate, bringing the score to 4 Mets and 6 Nats. This is the score that the game ended with. The Mets didn’t claw their way back and the teams didn’t play the bottom of the 9th inning.
Observations
I think the weather combined with the team standings (2nd to last place vs the last place team), being the last game of the season and the rain delay probably killed any attendance. There were a crazy number of seats vacant. It looked like half capacity. I’d like to go back to see the Nationals play again, perhaps on a better day or earlier in the season. I’ve read that the team generally doesn’t have a high attendance rate, but I feel like we didn’t get a true experience.
The past few stadiums we’ve visited have not had general seating areas on the concourses to eat food or catch the game while eating or waiting in line for purchases.
Written October 25, 2026
Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity. Blog title brainstorming too!
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