Friday night’s rainout between the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants left the fans drenched. Why were communications so poor?
The Washington Nationals looked terrible Friday night, and they never took the field.
As the Nats, San Francisco Giants and us waited out hours of thunderstorms, Washington did a poor job passing along information in what became a rain out.
Because this is the Giants lone visit to Washington this year, Major League Baseball in New York had the final say on the game. They were correct in delaying the start before seven and calling things around 9:20.
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But, if you were there under the concourse paying full price for munchies and drinks to keep dry, word came on the scoreboard closer to 10. The Nats did what Mother Nature did to the outfield. They soaked you.
As bewildered Giants reporters passed along stories of meeting with manager Bruce Bochy shortly after 9:30 and seeing players in street clothes, the Nats press remained in the dark. Except, a few on MASN who allegedly left Nationals Park for home.
That will be $4.75 for another ice cream sandwich, please.
One would think after the public relations disaster earlier this year after postponing a game against the Atlanta Braves the Nats would know better. You remember, the three-hour weather delay and cancellation where it never rained a drop? On that hot night, at least Washington gave away hot dogs and drinks.
Not this time.
The decision from MLB to shut this down is correct. With another round of thunder and lightning due, earliest the game would start was 11. As Metro shuts down around that hour, thousands would have paid for a ticket to a game they could not see as their ride home left for the night.
The Nats used Twitter often to remind fans to stay under protection and were honest about not knowing the status of the night until after nine. Once MLB called things, Washington had the responsibility to send fans home. Instead, the team waited over 30 minutes. Inexcusable behavior.
As the Nats create roots within Washington, these are the unforced errors that will haunt them. With the division settled and the Washington Redskins starting their preseason, it gets harder to compete for attention. Which is why mistakes like this are hard to swallow.
On the field, this is the best team in franchise history. There is a legitimate chance of Washington hosting a World Series game for the first time in over 80 years this October. It does not get better than this. Yet, the team makes public relations gaffes.
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People dwell on the negative. This is how you lose fans. That is not acceptable.