Article snippet: WASHINGTON — The thrill of the Washington Nationals making the World Series has been amplified for lifelong fans like Steven Baranko, who has experienced all the October meltdowns and playoff heartbreak in the team’s history. He’s only 18. That someone barely old enough to vote is still older than Washington’s baseball team highlights how novel the euphoria here has been this week in a city that’s been otherwise riven by fierce political partisanship. “The vibe is totally changed,” said Baranko, from nearby Bethesda, Md., who was at the team’s losses in the deciding games of the 2012, 2016, and 2017 National League Division Series. “Everyone’s talking about them like, ‘Hey, did you get to go to the game? Does anyone have tickets they can sell me?’ ” Finally, Washington has found a subject that everyone here can rally behind, something to compete with the impeachment frenzy — baseball fever. The Nationals are headed to their first World Series since Major League Baseball returned to Washington in 2005 after a 33-year hiatus. And the team’s gleaming new ballpark, which has revived a downtrodden neighborhood just south of Capitol Hill, has become the place to be seen, drawing senators, Supreme Court justices, and government officials among its growing fan base. The Nats’ postseason success this October after years of disappointment has become the positive story the city desperately needs amid the chaos of President Trump’s administration and the bitter House impeac... Link to the full article to read more