Earlier this month, my AMAZING West Coast Nationals’ adventure continued when I traveled with the team from Los Angeles to San Diego. Notwithstanding record heat at Petco Park, I enjoyed the experience even though the Nationals dropped the series with the Padres.
In case you did not see my last post, I bid on and won an auction item at the Nationals Philanthropies gala that allowed me to travel with the team in LA and San Diego. Essentially, I was able to piggy-back on the annual friends and family trip.
The opportunity to visit with the players and their families was incredible. Jacob Young’s family took in batting practice with us before one game. His grandmother was a great athlete in her youth and everyone was joking that she taught Jacob how to hit.
I also very much enjoyed seeing the players interact with their wives and girlfriends. Many of them rode the buses together. One young couple was especially excited. Abimelec (Abi) Ortiz and his beautiful bride Valeria from Puerto Rico were loving every minute of the trip. Ortiz made his Major League debut for the Nationals on July 12, 2026 against the New York Yankees. The Nationals’ confidence in Ortiz no doubt helped spur the Luis Garcia Jr. trade at the August 3 deadline. Indeed, Abi has not disappointed.
Through the first 14 games of Ortiz’s major league career, he not only slashed .300/.317/.700 with six of his 12 hits going for extra bases, he also drove in nine runs and tied a franchise record with five home runs. He crushed a massive upper-deck moonshot on August 12, 2026, against the Chicago Cubs at Nationals Park, sending the ball all the way into the iconic third-deck red seat area. And, just last week he was able to inspect the newly installed red seat.
I reflected a bit on what an credible experience this must be for Abi and Valeria. The opportunity for him to live out a dream and for her to be a part of it. They even drove together the whole seven hours from Rochester to DC when he was called up to the show.
How about Nas getting the nod as the Nats Roberto Clemente award nominee? What a great honor.
I’m listening to the first game against the Phillies right now and curious as to why Adams, Wood and Lile are all riding the bench tonight. Any thoughts?
Maybe we’ll be the envy of sports next year.
#thenatslady #theswarm
Leave a Reply