The girls and I had the pleasure of participating in the Nationals inaugural Ladies Baseball 101 on Saturday afternoon. We arrived early at RFK, about 9:15 am (keep in mind we had stayed until the end of the game the night before and left about 1 am). We were a little nervous and not sure what to expect. If the clinic had a really serious vibe we might have looked a little silly. Turns out we didn’t have much to worry about, the vibe was really relaxed, and all of the ladies were very friendly.
We registered and received a nice t-shirt, two tickets to that night’s game, and a Bob Carpenter scorebook! The group of about 40 women took the field. It was amazing to stand on the grass in RFK, something we have wanted to do all summer. Better yet, we all got to store our stuff in the Nats dugout. The girls and I went a little nuts with the camera at this point. We sat on the bench and stood on the stop step pretending to watch a game just like the guys, it was pretty cool! The ladies were divided into five groups. By happy coincidence the girls and I were placed together in group 4. Due to the extra inning game the night before, the players scheduled to appear were given the morning off to rest up for that night’s game. We weren’t too disappointed as we were coached by Tim Tolman, Pat Corrales, Jerry Morales, Julian Martinez, and Rick Aponte. The coaches did an excellent job giving the ladies inside information and answering all of our questions.
We started the clinic off by all warming up together. We participated in the same pre-game routine that the Nats do. We ran a few sprints, did some stretching, and jumping jacks. Group 4 headed to work with Tim Tolman first on base running skills. Tolman was excellent in teaching us the 3 ways to run to first base. We liked the “banana turn” were you run the base a bit wide and look to your right watching the play in hopes of stretching a single into a double. Lindsey wanted to hit a grand slam so Tolman set the bases up for her and she rounded them like a pro. Tim also showed us the mystery behind those crazy signs, turns out its not that complicated at all. We asked a question about stealing bases and were informed that players like Lopez and Logan have a green light to steal bases, other players like Dmitri not so much.
Next we headed through the dugout to the indoor batting cages to learn how to hit with Pat Corrales. Corrales told us the mechanics of the batters stance. He also told us to notice how each player has a routine while at bat. We learned that it’s important to have a little movement before swinging because it is really difficult to hit a ball from a statue like position. We each took 3 swings behind the tee. Turns out K was quite the slugger! Corrales told us a little about whom to watch during the game. He said that the Braves player Diaz has a great swing. He also praised his protégé Jesus Flores for his hard work this season.
Learning how to field a grounder was next. We were coached by Julian Martinez and Nilson Robledo. Robledo hit us grounders, we scoped them up and threw them back. Our skills were tested here and we had a blast.
We headed over to the visitors bullpen to learn about pitching with Rick Aponte. Aponte gave us an in depth description of each type of pitch. He told us the three most important pieces of making a good pitch. First is the location, second the movement, and third is the speed. He was an excellent teacher and graciously posed for a photo with us.
The last station was learning the outfield with Morales and Reyes. We were taught that commutation is the most important thing for outfielders. We also learned that the center fielder is in charge of the outfield, while the shortstop has priority in the infield. We learned how to catch a fly ball on a sunny day by blocking the sun with our gloves. We also learned that the outfielder with the strongest arm usually plays right field, as they can make the long throw to home look so easy.After our stations, we all posed for a group photo and headed up to the Miller Lite room to have lunch with Bob, Don, and Debbie. During our lunch Bob Carpenter gave us a brief demonstration about keeping score. He even showed us his personal scorebook filled with some memorable games. We have used the scorebook he designed all summer, so it was nice to hear right from him if we were doing it correctly. Debbie Taylor spoke to us about her job and what its like to be a woman in a male dominated industry. Turns out she has the same access as all of the guys do, which is awesome! Don Sutton spoke to us for a while about his childhood, how he started playing baseball, why he loves the game, and his broadcasting career. He also gave us some pretty funny jokes and stories. The lunch lasted about an hour, and both Bob and Don stuck around for a bit after to sign and take photos.
We’d like to thank the Nationals for another great event. We are very pleased the Nats have taken the time to recognize the female fan this summer. The event on Saturday was fantastic, we had a great time, and more importantly learned a lot.
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