November 2018 November 2018 | Page 16

Th ost of m t u b , t n car e p l l u e it b s u w e o t n t a c Have t expe ’ n o d s r ieve their rel The Washington Nationals’ newest addi- tion rested right outside the dugout as afternoon turned to evening Friday, its wheels still, its headlights off, its back ready to carry a reliever or two. Or not. 16 Washington nights like Fri- day’s. As of now, his bullpen mates do not agree. “Absolutely not. I am not taking that thing,” Nationals reliever Koda Glover said when asked whether he would ride the team’s new bullpen cart to the mound. “Because I have two legs that work. I mean, come on, I don’t need to get in a golf cart to drive me into the game.” “I am not going to ride it in, no,” Trevor Gott said before Friday’s game. “I like the jog in, gets the blood pump- ing, gives you time to gather yourself. I prefer that, but if other guys want to give it a try, hey, that’s their thing.” As the Nationals welcomed the Miami Mar- lins in for a three-game series, they joined the Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Ti- gers as the third team to bring back the bull- pen cart this season. The cart is an optional perk, and a handful of Nationals relievers expect to decline the ride. Sean Doolittle, the all-star closer who has been on the disabled list since July 10 with a foot injury, endorsed the bullpen cart after riding in the one em- ployed by the Diamondbacks this season. The Nationals looked into a bullpen cart in July, secured a sponsorship from WGL En- ergy and then waited four weeks for a Flor- ida-based company to build a customized edition. Nationals owner Mark Lerner has been eyeing a bullpen cart for a while and had a hand in designing this one. The cart features a Nationals logo on every tire, a blue hat on top and baseball mitts behind each headlight, to make them look like base- balls when turned on. Doolittle thought a cart made perfect sense for Nationals Park, especially for humid Manager Dave Martinez, who has no reason to ride the cart, will be impressed if it can WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM