That time Frank Robinson left RFK Stadium in full Nationals uniform
Charlie Slowes
With the Nats and their latest new manager back in the news  longtime play-by-play voice  Charlie Slowes  had occasion this week to reminisce about the history of Nationals managers. Which led  him  to one of  his  favorite stories about a Nats manager  one I had never heard but immediately loved.
“I guess he’d just got into his car  he’s listening to the radio or something ”  Slowes  went on. “And he rolls his window down — and he was still in full uniform! He goes  ‘I’ve got to be back so early tomorrow  why even bother changing?’
“So my thought was — as he rolls his window up and he pulls away — he’s living in an apartment building in D.C. ”  Slowes  said. “And I’m just thinking  he’s got to go in the garage and go up to his apartment. He’s doing that in full uniform? If you lived in the apartment  you’d go  ‘Hey  who’s the guy in the Frank Robinson uniform?’ ”
“I couldn’t believe that he did it  and to this day nobody else knows that story ”  Slowes  said. “I’ve told  it  to a couple people  but nobody else saw  it   so  it ’s not believable to anybody else.” But  Slowes  called  it  “one of my great memories” from  his  time with the Nats.
Meanwhile   Slowes  — who also has a history with the Tampa Bay Rays — has known new skipper Dave Martinez for 20 years  and has spoken with him frequently about his desire to get a big league managerial job.
“I’ve talked to him every year ”  Slowes  said. “I talked to him during the [Nats-Cubs] playoff series. Each year I’d see him back in Florida — because we live near each other — and he’s say  ‘I’m so ready  I’m ready to have my own team  I’m ready to manage  that’s what I want to do.’ So I knew that he interviewed when Matt Williams was hired; he was the runner-up. I knew he was considered after Matt Williams  but they decided to go with the experienced manager. I knew he interviewed for other jobs.”
With the Nats and their latest new manager back in the news  longtime play-by-play voice  [TGT]had occasion this week to reminisce about the history of Nationals managers. Which led  [TGT]  to one of  [TGT]  favorite stories about a Nats manager  one I had never heard but immediately loved.
“I guess he’d just got into [TGT] car  he’s listening to the radio or something ”  [TGT]went on. “And [TGT] rolls [TGT] window down — and [TGT] was still in full uniform! [TGT] goes  ‘I’ve got to be back so early tomorrow  why even bother changing?’
“So my thought was — as [TGT] rolls [TGT] window up and [TGT] pulls away — he’s living in an apartment building in D.C. ”  [TGT]said. “And I’m just thinking  he’s got to go in the garage and go up to his apartment. He’s doing that in full uniform? If you lived in the apartment  you’d go  ‘Hey  who’s the guy in the Frank Robinson uniform?’ ”
“I couldn’t believe that he did it  and to this day nobody else knows that story ”  [TGT]said. “I’ve told  it  to a couple people  but nobody else saw  it   so  it ’s not believable to anybody else.” But  [TGT]called  it  “one of my great memories” from  his  time with the Nats.
Meanwhile   Slowes  — who also has a history with the Tampa Bay Rays — has known new skipper Dave Martinez for 20 years  and has spoken with him frequently about his desire to get a big league managerial job.
“I’ve talked to him every year ”  [TGT]said. “I talked to him during the [Nats-Cubs] playoff series. Each year I’d see him back in Florida — because we live near each other — and he’s say  ‘I’m so ready  I’m ready to have my own team  I’m ready to manage  that’s what I want to do.’ So I knew that he interviewed when Matt Williams was hired; he was the runner-up. I knew he was considered after Matt Williams  but they decided to go with the experienced manager. I knew he interviewed for other jobs.”