 After the slam. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) As soon as Bryce Harper left D.C. for Philadelphia, some pals and I in the office started our semi-annual debate about the five most popular pro athletes in Washington. One and two are a given: Alex Ovechkin and Max Scherzer, in some order. These are generational players, future Hall of Famers, among the best ever at what they do, and also reliable in the biggest moments. (As long as those don't include Game 5 relief appearances.) So these aren't open for debate. But No. 3? That's a debate. (How are we defining popular? Glad you asked. It can't just be about being recognized on K Street, because that's a function of body type. It can't be about "who would prompt the biggest autograph line in a crowded convention center," because that's a function of team popularity. So here's the standard: You find 1,000 self-identified D.C. sports fans, hand them each a list of 40 or however many athlete names, and ask each fan to give each athlete a score from 1 to 100 based on how positive the fans feel about said athletes. D.C. United, the Mystics and the Spirit count. The Kastles and Valor and anythiing else does not. This is extremely scientific and you can't question my protocol. I think Ovechkin and Scherzer would be near 100. What happens next is the debate.) So anyhow. Who is No. 3? It can't be anyone on the Redskins, because no one can even decide who the Redskins' most popular player is. It can't be John Wall, not with the injury. Bradley Beal is a maybe, but team performance likely brings him down. There are any number of Caps who've been floated as potential No. 3s (Braden Holtby, T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson most often), and those are possibilities. There are more possibilities on the Nats: Sean Doolittle, Stephen Strasburg, Juan Soto, Trea Turner, even Ryan Zimmerman, for lifetime achievement. The only way to know this for sure is to grab 1,000 of you and make you fill out my survey. (And I might.) But it might be Anthony Rendon. It really might. His smile, for many fans, takes the place of any interesting quotes. His support of the Youth Baseball Academy, for many fans, matters more than his utter lack of flair. He's an all-star, and the best positional player on what remains one of baseball's winningest teams. He doesn't have Strasburg's sometimes polarizing history, and he's more established than Soto, and right in his prime. And he hits the everlasting hell out of the baseball, like he did last night, with the biggest hit (a grand slam) in one of the season's biggest wins (a 6-2 defeat of the Braves to move the division deficit back to 4½ games). (Read the gamer) Did you see the reaction? There was just no chance fans were letting him off the hook without a curtain call. (Somewhat amazingly, these were not the best short video clips of the night, since both ESPN and MASN had lots of fun capturing the Baby Shark elation, which followed closely after Rendon's heroics. Come to think of it, maybe Gerardo Parra has a case to be No. 3. Or, uh, No. 1.) Anyhow, you can click on my head to give me your vote, but I'd really rather just send you a survey in the mail, which I might do at some point. And that win will mean a lot less if Erick Fedde gets shelled tonight and the division lead goes right back to 5½ games. Well, I guess it won't matter less. It will just be less fondly remembered. Perhaps. Bah, whatever, you know what I mean, just go back to watching the Baby Shark videos. - Okay, but before you read the other baseball stuff, you have to read this story about these kiddie D.C. baseball fans who met 50 years ago via the Young Senators fan club, and then not again until last weekend at Nats Park. (Read more)
- Patrick Corbin got 18 whiffs on his slider last night. That's a whole lot. (Read more)
- Via Svrluga, a point made before but worth repeating: The potential is there for that most unusual of Washington occurrences: an honest-to-goodness pennant race. (Read more)
- You probably know this, but Scherzer's back on the injured list. (Read more)
- I know you don''t like reading about Bryce Harper, but maybe you like reading about his struggles. (It's actually making me sad, surprisingly.) (Read more)
- Meet Donald Parham, the Redskins' undrafted rookie tight end with a 7-foot wingspan. (Read more)
- After his NFL days end, Jonathan Allen wants to launch video gaming career. (Read more)
- At 6 p.m. Saturday, Melba Jacobson was sporting her No. 7 Joe Theismann jersey and white Washington Redskins sunglasses when she locked eyes with running back Derrius Guice.She told him she was about to turn 95. (Read more)
- Four-star forward Terrance Williams of Gonzaga verbally committed to Georgetown on Monday. (Read more)
- Andy Murray said Monday at the Citi Open that his return to playing singles in the wake of a career-threatening hip injury may come sooner than he originally thought. (Read more)
- More from the Citi Open: Madison Keys tries to focus on the future, but Coco Gauff reminds her of her past. (Read more)
Today on TV: The Orioles are in San Diego at 3:30 on MASN2. The Nats host the Braves at 7 on MASN. The Mystics host Phoenix at 7 on NBC Sports Washington. The Citi Open is on Tennis Channel for much of the day. |
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