At the Washington Nationals event on Saturday called the Hot Stove, season ticket holders of the team packed the room beyond what seemed like normal capacity. This was their opportunity to hear it from the mouths of all new executive team. There was Jason Sinnarajah, President of Business Operations, Paul Toboni, President of Baseball Operations, and Blake Butera, the manager of the baseball team.

What Sinnarajah told me was that improving the fan experience is a major priority for him and the team. When he was on stage, he talked about only being in this position for about two weeks time. What he wanted to do was listen to the fans in attendance. He was a man of his words. He literally stayed about an hour after the event, and long after Toboni and Butera departed, to listen to anyone in the long line waiting to talk to him.

The reason that I know how long Sinnarajah stayed is because I happened to be the last person in the line with Don Henderson — and PowerBoater was about five or six ahead of me. Sinnarajah could have exited long before the line ended. But he stayed, and talked, and he listened, and he thanked people.

Jason Sinnarajah, President of Business Operations for the Washington Nationals, is going to be a major asset for this team, the fans, and the DMV. He is intent on supporting a more positive image and improving the fan experience. He stayed until the final person in a long line… pic.twitter.com/wLapL2owCZ

— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) February 1, 2026

Change in improving the customer experience (CX) will only come in a large corporation when there is a true commitment to embracing change.

When customer centricity becomes a strategic business driver rather than a peripheral metric, major transformations can move forward. Some teams begin with a focus group or 1-on-1s like Sinnarajah had with fans. Everyone will look for visible results in the simplest form like replacing seat cushions and seat backs on ripped seats that got the quick fix of tape over the holes. What a fail that was.

While individual projects may show results in the short-term, enterprise-wide shifts that move beyond simple score-watching towards proactive, AI-driven, and personalized experiences are rapidly becoming a necessity, with many companies aiming for certain milestones during the season. We will see. I didn’t hear of any specific promises.

Here is when and how change occurs in large corporations based on current trends and data:

Improvement happens in phases, and a team’s speed depends on its current prioritization:

Reactive: Fixing problems as they occur (low change speed).

Emerging: Using metrics like NPS to track progress.

Proactive: Using AI to predict issues.

Strategic: CX dictates business strategy.

Transformational: Seamless, personalized experience is the brand DNA. 

Common Barriers to Immediate Change:

Cost: Of course cost can be a barrier depending on the budget. Were replacing seat cushions and seatbacks in the budget as an example?

Siloed Data: Fragmented information hinders a unified view of the customer.

Quarterly Profit Focus: Obsession with short-term earnings can stifle long-term CX investments.

Change Fatigue: Waning employee enthusiasm for new technologies or processes. 

For maximum impact, companies must connect CX to financial outcomes—demonstrating how better experiences drive revenue, retention, and loyalty. 

And Powerboater put together a list in his article last week before the event.

For Sinnarajah:

1. Fan events in the community have disappeared over the past 5-10 years while the team from Baltimore is holding promotional events right here inside the DC Beltway. No more Winter Caravan, no mascots handing out prizes at locations around town, no more away game watch parties, do you envision bringing any of these back?

2. Much of this team’s marketing remains in place from when the Nats were making the playoffs on a regular basis, how do you envision bringing back fans over the next year or so while the team is still struggling (And please don’t say bus in visiting fans as a strategy)?

3. Any thoughts about providing increased access to the blogger community as with prevalent here through the 2017 season?

4. Is there any consideration underway to restoring the post-game broadcast booth back next to the Red Porch?

5. The Nats Fantasy Camp down in Florida sounds like an amazing experience, any thought about hosting a shortened one-day version here at Nats Park during road trips?

6. The Nationals have a great partnership with local youth leagues, but not as much with the local youth softball leagues, any thought to balancing it out with the girls a little more?

7. The Nats have restrictions on bringing in water, even when the weather hits 90+ degrees, isn’t the health of your fan base more important than profiting from selling water?

8. The ballpark can be really noisy, not the fans, all of the constant pumped up loudspeaker noise. Any chance we can get quiet nights on Mondays?

My No. 1 to Sinnarajah, besides the torn seats, was how can the team improve their image? For too many years, the Nationals have not been a destination spot because of how they are perceived. Perception equals reality. It goes beyond a winning record although that is a big part of the situation. Even in the media, they have been the easy target on sports talk radio to bash.

It wasn’t like attendance was Top-3 during the winning years of 2012 to 2019. There is a bigger issue at-hand. And that is obviously what ownership wants Sinnarajah to figure out. At the end of the day, he has to get more butts in the seats. That means retaining happy season ticket holders, and adding new plan holders to the equation.

What would you want to see from Sinnarajah?

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