Talkback: Is it OK to root for both the Nationals and the Orioles?

WASHINGTON — In one night, both of the D.C. region’s baseball teams clinched division titles and playoff berths.

The Nationals won their second NL East title. The Orioles won the AL East title.

The next morning, the debate began: Can you root for both the Nationals and the Orioles?

In the WTOP Newsroom, opinion was mixed.

WTOP Film Critic and morning writer Jason Fraley, who was wearing an Orioles jersey over his Washington Nationals T-shirt, says you can root for both, for now.

“I will be absolutely rooting for the Orioles to make it in the American League and the Nationals in the National League. But make no mistake about it. Once the World Series arrives, this Orioles jersey gets buttoned up,” he says.

Fraley points out his beloved Orioles haven’t been to the World Series since winning in 1983.

Nationals fans are fairly new, since the team didn’t arrive until 2005 as the former Montreal Expos.

That’s why most folks at the Tastee Diner in Laurel — halfway between Baltimore and Washington — are lifelong Orioles fans.

“I always say, the Orioles and who?” manager Jeff Dudley jokes. “I’ve been an Orioles fan since 1956. That’s when I was born.”

He says local baseball fans need to pick a side once and for all: “If you play in the middle of the street, you get run over. I root for two teams, the Orioles and whoever is playing the Nationals.”

But Mickey Abbate, who is enjoying a meal at the counter, says fans can love them both. “I prefer the O’s but I love the Nats as well,” he says. “I’m rooting for this Beltway World Series. I can’t wait. I hope that it works out.”

Dudley is also looking dreaming of a potential playoff series against the Nationals.

“It would be great as long as the Orioles win and these people are put in their place with their new baseball team,” Dudley says. “I would love it.”

The last time Washington won a World Series, it was 1924 and the team was called the Washington Senators. They are now the Minnesota Twins.

But, Nationals fans are equally as rabid about their team, as evidenced by the heated debate that ensued in the newsroom.

Tell us. Is it OK to root for both the Nationals and the Orioles at the same time? Talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

Here are some of the responses from Twitter:

WTOP’s Jamie Forzato contributed to this report.

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