Baseball Notes: Nationals warm up new ballpark

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, March, 2008 by Associated Press

The Washington Nationals scheduled their first practice at their new ballpark yesterday, giving them their first chance to answer everyone's favorite question. Will Nationals Park be a pitcher's park or a hitter's park? The initial speculation is that the stadium, along the Anacostia River about a mile south of the Capitol, will slightly favor pitchers.

The dimensions aren't much more intimate than those at roomy RFK. Nationals Park is 335 feet down the right-field line, 370 in right-center, 402 in center, 377 in left-center, and 336 down the left-field line. RFK's posted dimensions were 335-380-410-380-335, although players doubted whether the measurements to its power alleys were accurate. "It's not going to be a bandbox," general manager Jim Bowden said. "It's not going to be a hitter's park like Philadelphia or Cincinnati. It's not going to be a pitcher's park like RFK. I think it's going to be a balanced park ...