Stan Kasten, President of the Nationals, today announced to the media that he was stepping down at the end of the season. He’s lead the front office of the Nationals since the group lead by the Lerners bought the franchise in 2006. Losing him, well, it’s not going to be a picnic for the Nationals, who are in the midst of a delicate transition from last place “Bad News Bears” style baseball to a more competitive franchise with a shot at the NL East. Whoever follows Kasten has a hard act to follow. One of the things that I remember from Stan’s first season in DC is how he responded to fans and their issues.
Early in the 2006 season, Tiff and I were at a game wherein the concessions in the second deck were pretty much unusable due to lengthy lines, cash-only requirements, and a dearth of ATMs. Fed up with being unable to get dinner at the ballpark, I dashed off an email to Stan Kasten, guessing at his email address. I didn’t want anything from Stan, I just wanted to let him know about the experience we were having in the second deck at RFK.
Stan emailed me back to say that he was sorry about that, and that could he come by to apologize. He did. We ran into each other in the hallway just outside our section. He came by to say he was sorry, and gave us something like $60 in stadium credit good at the concessions. He didn’t have to do that last part, but he wanted to make sure that we felt welcome at the park.
Yes, Stan actively courted the Philly Invasion crowd, and that’s not exactly been a popular part of my experience as a fan at Nats Park. In some ways, that’s the sort of medicine that this team needs to build a fanbase that can compete with the folks up north.
Regardless, this team will miss Stan’s push from behind. Here’s hoping the team can find someone who will live up to his legacy so far.
