CONTINGENTS FROM BOTH Washington, D.C., and North- ern Virginia have made their pitches to Major League Baseball officials to become the new home of the unappreciated Montreal Expos. Will MLB swing?

Date published: 3/24/2003

CONTINGENTS FROM BOTH Washington, D.C., and North- ern Virginia have made their pitches to Major League Baseball officials to become the new home of the unappreciated Montreal Expos. Will MLB swing?

The two factions, competing with each other and a Portland, Ore., group, have spelled out their plans for financing the move and building stadiums. The Virginia and Washington groups have tried to counter concerns about stealing fans from the Baltimore Orioles, an alleged baseball team. They've no doubt sung the blues, too, over the Washington area's abandonment--twice--by previous franchises, and how tantalizingly close it has come in the past to winning expansion clubs.

While they're at it, they should point out that George Washington's mighty heave of a silver dollar across the Rappahannock could be considered baseball's symbolic first pitch. OK, maybe that's a bit far afield.

But let's hope the optimism gushing from the meetings in Phoenix is well-founded. Of course we think the best place for a team is this side of the Potomac, easily accessible to fans from both the district and Virginia, and better insulated from the attraction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. This growing area is taut with anticipation, waiting to spring at the opportunity to support a baseball team. Certainly one of baseball's 30 franchises would be in good hands in Washington or Northern Virginia, which together form the fifth largest metro area in the nation.

Oh, if the two contingents could pool their resources rather than fight each other, they might already be rounding the bases.

Date published: 3/24/2003