Rooting for the long-lost Senators: Many memories, few wins

WASHINGTON (AP) — We couldn't even win the egg tossing contest.

Growing up in the Washington suburbs during the 1960s, cheering for the local baseball team was a lost cause.

A trip to the World Series like these Nationals? Forget it. Our Senators were out of it by opening day.

So we found other things to root for under the wavy roof at D.C. Stadium and RFK. Like huge Frank Howard hitting a monster home run — they painted the seats white where Hondo's shots landed in the upper deck.

Or flashy catcher Cazzie Casanova whipping the ball back to the mound, faster than ol' curveballer Camilo Pascual pitched it. Or fresh Del Unser flying around the bags, boosting his league-leading triples total.

And, of course, the time Ted Williams came to town.

Which is why I can remember being so excited to go with mom and dad to see a doubleheader against the powerful Minnesota Twins.

Between games, that's the only time our team had a chance.

Hard to imagine now, but that's when they held corny competitions. First, Hondo and Mike Epstein and Ken McMullen took on Harmon Killebrew and the Twins in a Home Run Derby. They each got three swings. We lost.

Then, the egg toss.

Senators shortstop Eddie Brinkman and sure-handed second baseman Tim Cullen stood a few feet apart on one side, Twins infielders Rod Carew and Cesar Tovar on the other. They took turns, moving back a few feet with each throw.

We were bound to win this one — until the raw egg exploded in Steady Eddie's hands.

The old Senators were terrible when dad was a teenage usher at Griffith Stadium in the '40s, hence the label that stuck with them for decades: "First in war, first in peace and last in the American League."

At least that version enjoyed an earlier heyday with the great Walter Johnson and won three pennants and...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Rooting-for-the-long-lost-Senators-Many-14543722.php