WASHINGTON — When you are 42 playing baseball, you can do whatever you want, including taking the bullpen cart to the mound.
Nationals reliever Fernando Rodney came in during the sixth inning of Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night, and he did so in style, riding the bullpen cart down the first base line and getting dropped off by home plate.
It immediately inspired some excited reaction on Twitter. Nationals fans, of course, are used to the festive cart. The team has had it available all season long, and both Rodney and Sean Doolittle have used it frequently.
But for those national fans (no pun intended) not accustomed to seeing Washington too often, it was a fun sight.
The bullpen cart was frequently used by major league teams throughout the '70s, as a wonderfully fun, somewhat cheesy emblem of a wonderfully fun, somewhat cheesy era of baseball.
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It went into disuse for a while, but the Diamondbacks first thought of bringing one around for the 2018 season, and late last season the Nationals started using their own.
Doolittle actually played a role in bringing it to Washington, after he fell in love with Arizona's bullpen cart.
On Friday night, it again captured hearts around the country for the first time.
Whether it helped Rodney is tough to say. He started off looking wild and walked George Springer, but came around and got out of the inning without allowing any damage.