Rivalry Lacks Heat While on Spring Training Back Burner

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Quite literally it was a tale of two cities. Off the field, this newly-born geographic rivalry has metaphorically resembled some of the savagery chronicled in the Charles Dickens classic. On the field, the Nationals and Orioles showed no such fervor in last Saturday’s spring training face off, the first of three preseason games between the clubs.

BEFORE THE GAME D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams signed autographs for fans grateful for their new baseball team. (News-Press photo by Jody Fellows)

District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams walked the field during batting practice signing autographs. Legendary Orioles Manager Earl Weaver threw out the first pitch. Baltimore even wore its regular season white home uniforms, much as the Nationals did for their first spring game, and O’s Manager Lee Mazilli let his starting lineup, chock full of stars, play late into the game. The fans were animated, cheering both the teams and Williams, who stayed for the duration of a marathon three-and-a-half-hour game ultimately won in the ninth by the Nationals.

This was it, the birth of a spectacular rivalry a la the Mets and Yankees, bursting with adrenaline and excitement.

Maybe not.

On the field, the players were placid at best. The most fire displayed, before the flurry of runs to finish the game, was by Sammy Sosa after getting ejected in the second inning. As of now anyway, this isn’t quite in the caliber of the cross-New York rivalry.

“An exhibition game isn’t a big rivalry,” Nationals Manager Frank Robinson said. “Down the road, maybe it is.”

“We’re just down here trying to get ready for the season,” said Nationals third basemen Vinny Castilla, who had no knowledge of Williams presence until interviewed after leaving Saturday’s game.

Perhaps it’s because the Nationals are simply content to be out of Montreal. Or maybe they have mastered the art of setting non-game-related issues aside, so as not to get swept up in the maelstrom of off-field news that has surrounded their team the last three seasons.

More likely, however, is the idea that the new baseball fans in D.C. are reaching, hoping to emulate the rivalry they see between the Yankees and the Mets. That rivalry was born out of a constant battle for publicity on the back page of the city’s tabloids, and further heated through interleague play and a clash in the 2000 World Series. That series saw Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens hurl a broken bat at the feet or Mets catcher Mike Piazza, bringing the contention to new heights.

But as of yet there is no history between these two teams, nor is there any bad blood.

The franchises have only met in 15 unmemorable games since 1997, and haven’t faced each other since 2001. The last time the two teams met June 10, 2001, the game ended in a 3-2 win for the Orioles and the box score featured names like Javier Vazquez, Vladimir Guerrero, Cal Ripken Jr. and Brady Anderson. In fact, the only remaining player for either team listed in the starting lineup of that game is Baltimore’s Melvin Mora.

And then of course there’s another hindrance to this rivalry.

“I think that to have a rivalry you have to have the teams play each other,” Castilla said.

The clubs don’t meet this year because the relocation was completed after the 2005 Major League Schedule had been finalized. That’s the official reason anyway. However, sources familiar with the situation have indicated the schedule has been changed to accommodate other issues and insinuated Orioles owner Peter Angelos has put up speed bumps to any such regular-season series. Angelos, angry over the invasion of Baltimore’s market, has allegedly been trying to make life as difficult as possible for Commissioner Bud Selig until the league comes to terms on the relocation compensation package. Recently, however, the Washington Post reported that a schedule realignment to pit the Nationals against the Orioles is likely — in 2006.

Maybe the rivalry on the field hasn’t matched the fireworks in the Baltimore owner’s box quite yet, but down the line …

“That’s the game plan, isn’t it?” Jeffery Hammonds, a former Oriole and current member of the Nationals, said. “These are territorial rights. You’ve got pretty much the same fan base. We’re coming in trying to jump in the Orioles’ territory, and we’ve got to convert the fans. There will definitely be implications in every game we play against them.”