It’s the history, highlighted by 26 World Series titles and the countless Hall of Famers. It’s the jerseys: the most famous pinstripes in all of sports. It’s the owner. It’s the stars. It’s the media caravan.
It’s the Yankees.
Not that any of that matters to the Nationals, who host the famed Bronx Bombers this weekend.
Their focus centers on something more basic.
“It’s a big deal for us to play better,” Nationals second baseman Jose Vidro said. “That’s what we have to do, no matter who we play.”
The Nationals say the series is bigger for the fans than for themselves.
“You don’t go in there, ‘Oooooh, this is the Yankees,’” Manager Frank Robinson said. “You don’t put any more emphasis on a certain series. Then you let down against another team. They understand who they’re playing. But you’re not playing against the name out there, you’re playing against people.”
The fun part for the players is facing someone new.
“If we were playing Seattle it would be cool because it’s a new team,” Nats catcher Brian Schneider said. “Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to playing [the Yankees]. But I don’t want to make more of it than what it is.”
Even rookie Ryan Zimmerman wasn’t giddy about facing the Yankees for the first time.
“They’ve won, they make it to the playoffs every year,” he said. “They’re kind of like the Braves and we play the Braves all the time.”
But even he and his teammates understand the Braves don’t generate a buzz when they visit. The Yankees will, which is why RFK will be packed this weekend.
“It’s always nice to see people in the stands,” Robinson said. “But what you don’t like is to be in your own town and have their people drown out our people. [It’s] nice to play a series that has electricity to it and a buzz in the crowd before the game starts.”
The Nationals have two starters who used to play for the Yankees: first baseman Nick Johnson and left fielder Alfonso Soriano. New York is a rumored next stop for Soriano.
“It means a lot to me [to play them] because I see my friends,” Soriano said. “As a young player with the Yankees, it was unbelievable. A lot of players want to play for the Yankees and I did it in my first few years.”
35 years later
» The Yankees were the last team to play Washington in 1971, before the Senators relocated to Texas. The Senators led, 7-5, with two outs in the ninth before fans stormed the field, forcing the umpires to give New York a forfeit victory.
» It’s the first of back-to-back series against two of baseball’s most history-laden franchises. The Nationals play at Boston after this series.
