Eastern Front

The east coast has never seemed so densly crowded. As summer humidity spreads across the seaboard, The Nats, Braves, Marlins, Mets and Phils-along with their hot-blooded fans-are locked in a struggle from which two, at most, will emerge

They'll be eyeballing each other and the out-of-town scores for the next 14 weeks. A pennant race in June? You bet.

The District is going nuts for baseball. Just ask Carlos Baerga. In the middle of a June homestand, the hungry Nats infielder poked his head out of the dugout and begged an usher to fetch him some peanuts. Minutes later, the guy returned with a ballpark bag. "Four bucks," the stadium staffer told the 14-year vet. With no green on him-duh-Baerga tossed the salty goobers back. Season ticket-holder Hugh Kaufman (below) witnessed the exchange and tossed down a bag from his own stash. The Nats won. The next night, he gave Baerga another bag. The Nats won again. By the end of the homestand, the 62-year-old bureaucrat had donated 10 bags, and DC had won 10 straight to lead the division. On the last day, Kaufman presented Baerga with a black backpack filled with nine bags of nuts-one for each day of the team's upcoming road trip. He plans on continuing the ritual for the rest of the year. "It's all about the magic nuts," says Kaufman. Baerga has a different take. "The fans here are amazing," he says. "I love that guy."

After 33 barren seasons, DC is sweltering with pennant fever. It's hot enough to turn RFK-a concrete cookie-cutter-into a house of thrills. The Nats play in the shadow of the Capitol, and for this June 24 game against the Blue Jays (ex-rivals of the ex-Expos), Dubya and Condi joined in the fun. The chattering classes are represented by Tim Russert and James Carville (above), who give Brad Wilkerson a standing O after the centerfielder's seventh-inning homer puts the Nats up 3-0 en route to their 11th straight home win. Says Russert: "Baseball is back, baby."

Every day is Fan Appreciation Day in Washington, especially when you're used to playing before 10,000 people in Montreal and San Juan. Frank Robinson is unaffected. He's been here beforeboth in a pennant race and in Washington, where he hit 14 homers against the perennially lousy Senators in the 1960s. Three minutes before the first pitch against the Jays, the stoic Hall of Famer chats it up behind home plate. The Nats may still be owned by Bud Selig and friends, but things are looking up for this franchise, in the stands as well as on the field, with recent reinforcements Marlon Byrd and Ryan Drese (below right) lining up for "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Although just a game and a half separate the Braves and Marlins heading into their June 22 showdown in Atlanta, there's plenty of fraternizing with the enemy. Marlins utilityman Lenny Harris (below), who likes to use heavier bats for BP but accidentally left his in Florida, hits up various Braves for pieces of old-school lumber. Harris won't get in the game, but at least he's prepared. Meanwhile, skippers Bobby Cox and Jack McKeon, with more than 100 years of pro ball between them, gab for 15 minutes (below left) as U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)" blares over the Turner Field PA. The subject? "Baseball," says Cox after his team guts the Fish 8-0. "That's it." Yes, but there are also girls firing T-shirts into the stands.

Too early for a playoff atmosphere? Try telling that to the record 45,449 fans who show up at Philly's Citizens Bank Park on June 23— a Thursday afternoon— to watch the second-place Phils and fifth-place Mets. Judging from all the blue and orange in the crowd, New York is still on board for the whole Pedro-and-Beltran-driven "This Is the Year" hype. While Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel (below left) sweats it out pregame with the media, Mets outfielder Mike Cameron leads his team in a raucous chant of "Gotta have it!" And they do, ignoring the antics of the Phanatic to hold on for a crucial 4-3 win. They're all crucial from here on out.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine