These guys are something else. Finally, a new pennant to hang in the stadium. So glad we got to see it happen at home too. Just an incredible ride and a magical year.
Finally!!! I was heartbroken in 1981. It has been a long, hard road. The pen actually came through. It looked iffy at times, but held strong in the end.
Ladies and Gents, I raise a glass in toast to you all, wherever you might be. A toast to the long-sought pennant! Stay in the fight for 4 more wins, boys!
And Happy birthday to Ted Lerner. I've been hard on the Lerners, but glad they clinched it so he could see a World Series team of his own.
I haven't posted in a while, but I've been lurking. I'm sad that this is happening without bryce，and I'm sad that so many fans seem to really hate Bryce, but at the same time this is absolutely incredible.
I love this team and I've gotten to share this run with my family and it has been so special. Recently I have been living out of the country so it has been hard to go to Nationals games with my family. I almost don't care if they win it all now because this has been so special to watch together with my mom and dad.
Don't worry, Kevin; the 1995 Barves have your statistical back.
(I'm more worried about the Astros/Yankees hitters and bullpens than I am about the layoff...BUT IT'S WORLD SERIES BASEBALL AND I STILL HAVE THINGS TO MAKE ME WORRY!!! ^_^ )
I have no personal grudges against the guy, but Bryce's bad karma didn't help the team. He bought into the cash-franchise thing and let Boras market him as if he was the second coming of Mickey Mantle. The enduring image of him in Washington is not him as team player, but him winning the home run derby. Bad karma. He isn't Mickey Mantle --- and he never deserved the world record contract that seemed to be his career objective. That he let himself land in Philly was more bad karma. There he is destined to face the wrath of Nats fans who see him as traitor. And the wrath of Phillies fans who will never be satisfied with his output. Happy Birthday Harper.
Strasburg and Rendon have shown that you can still have good karma even if Boras is your agent. Very cool high performing players who get paid without showboating. Soto --- good karma. DM --- good karma. Max --- very very good karma.
@Nattydread. Jesus man. Give it a break. The team goes to the World Series and you post about how it’s because Bryce Harper’s cancer has left the clubhouse? What nonsense. They’re going to the World Series because they finally got the big hits in the big moments and caught some breaks. Good for them. None of it has to do with Bryce doing what every pro athlete does. Go where he is offered the most money. Jesus. (To show how loony this ‘his showboating hurt the team’ theory is.....Soto is probably the biggest showboat I’ve ever seen while hitting....or call it whatever u want...he stares down people after TAKING BALLS. LOL. Now I love it. Just like i loved Harper’s style. You need players with style. I can’t believe I’m even taking the time to respond to this. Enough. Bryce Harper brought every person on this blog joy and did nothing wrong. Direct your anger elsewhere—better yet, how about just putting your anger away since the team is in the World Series. A novel thought.
Unforgettable. Staying in Rome, at the Hotel d'Inghliterra. Woke up at 3:30, to check the score (7-4 in the 6th). Finally nodded off at 5:13, when the wonderful news was confirmed. Met a man wearing a red Nats cap (as was I) in front of St. Peters yesterday. We shared a moment of comeradrie -- and regret, that we weren't there in the middle of it. A sign of good fortune, perhaps.
Not gonna lie, when Goldschmidt was up with guys on, and runs in during a long inning....I was starting to think I’d be battling rain at Nats Park today. A pennant is still something great and worth celebrating. Happy for Zim and Howie.
If playoffs counted toward the vote, DM should be NL MOY:
1) Season started 19-31. But in hindsight, we see that the main causes were inadequate bullpen construction, and injuries, neither of which DM had control over.
2) Possibly on the brink of getting fired, turns the team around. Nats play at 107-win pace for 112 games. Dodgers did too, but they have more talent and a weaker division.
3) 4-0 in playoff elimination games (defined as: at least one team can get eliminated with a loss)
4) Worked around a bullpen that had one of the worst ERAs of any playoff team in baseball history. There were those who thought that it didn't matter if the Nats made the playoffs or not because the bullpen was so bad.
Watched the first three innings and, by that time, the Cards just weren't looking like they could catch the Nats - and in the first inning the Nats just seemed to hit it where the Cards weren't, or the Cards were imploding.
That, and it's a) a work night and b) when/if the Nats bring in the pen I don't want to see the Nats lose a six run lead.
That eighth inning was TENSE. I had to keep reminding myself that they had a 3 run lead, AND a 3 game lead, AND they'd already exorcised the demons. It felt like 2012 all over again, for a hot minute.
Now we just have to hope the Yankees win the ALCS in 7. Yanks-Nats would be epic, and also more do-able for the Nats. Then again, they toppled the Dodgers, so why not the Stros too?
@Bx - I agree, enough about Bryce. But.... since some of us can't help ourselves...
Bryce and Soto are both "showboats," fine - I'll give you that. But there is a difference between those two guys. I have images of Bryce hitting walkoff dingers and winning the homerun derby in DC, and it looks like he's riding a horse, sword drawn, with flames everywhere, ready to conquer the world. It's polarizing. A lot of it is not his fault, coming in with the hype bestowed upon the once-in-a-generation talent that he was. Juan Soto, carries himself differently. I have images of Juan hitting monster home runs and clutch hits, and I see a little boy playing backyard baseball with his friends, loving every minutes of it. Its a child-like love for the game that you don't see very often.
I remember last year, it was Soto's first week up with the team and he hits a double in the gap. Standing on second base, you see a grin creep across his face as he looks toward his dugout, but then disappears quickly and you see a scowl, excitement gone. The camera pans to the dugout and Bryce is on the top step with a similar look of determination pointing out at Soto and clapping his hands, yelling "lets go!" Maybe its just me, but that fun-loving infectious smile was tamped down in favor of the status quo: "the boring Nats, here to do their job, and go home."
This team is so fun. They are hear because of the big hits and timely pitching, but that same team got out of a 19-31 start to reach the World Series. That's due to chemistry. That's due to a manager sticking by his players. I firmly believe that this run is impossible with a player as polarizing (in a good way) as Bryce Harper. The narrative would have been "Bryce Harper finally leads his team to the World Series." The headlines this morning read something much more team-centric, and I love it.
lol @NattyDread lays the bait and @Bx can't resist taking it! a classic tussle on the morning after winning the pennant. as much as you hate it @Bx, the Bryce cloud will never be forgotten when people discuss the 2019 Nationals run, for better or worse.
WE GOIN TO DA "SHIP! No, I'm not originally from DC but lived there 2001-2013 I started following the Nats when they drafted Stras. Fell in love at the 14-strikeout debut. Went all in as a fan during the 2012 run. This is awesome. I truly thought the window had closed. Sports are funny that way - look at the 2018 Caps.
AWESOME!
Worries: -Long layoff. Grandy last night talked about playing on two teams that swept CS series and lost edge over the layoff, lost WS. -Astros: don't see our starters having such gems against their lineup. Corbin especially. Think Max can hold them to 2 runs over 7, and Stras if he is STRAS, but Corbin and Sanchez will have a much tougher time. -Astros: Their big three may be worse for our lineup than our big three for theirs. Whatever. WS!!!
also @BX re: Soto shuffling versus Bryce villainy: Soto does not have the same background as Bryce and comes across as super humble in both body language and verbiage when he's not in the box. Again, might not all be Bryce's fault in terms of his childhood and upbringing, but you can admit it's not the same.
The Nats pitching is madness right now. It's on another plane beyond great. Corbin had a rough inning, so of course the bullpen picked him up. This is the bet Rizzo has always believed in making. Kudos to him leaning into his belief and sticking with it.
I think the contrast with the Yankees starting pitching approach (only two times through the order and done) would make for the most interesting WS (and a fun plus being Harper blogging about his two favorite teams in one spot).
Good times. Oh also, I have zero ill will towards Bryce Harper nor do I think throwing this in his face is something Nats fans need to do with dumb signs and tweets. Who cares? It is what it is. He wasn't really wanted here by management, so he took the best deal he could find. Case closed.
The Nationals have won the National League Pennant. The Nationals are going to the World Series. FINALLY THOSE WORDS CAN BE SAID, after so much post-season heartache. I moved to the DC metro area in 1989 and have waited since then for this moment. From having no baseball at all except to go to effing Baltimore and root for whoever was playing the blankety blank blank blanking Orioles to National League Champions....I am simply giddy with disbelief.
I've been a severe critic of Mark Lerner, Mike Rizzo, Davey Martinez, and Kevin Long, and I don't think this one pennant victory justifies building a team solely on spending like mad on starting pitching with everything else cobbled together ad hoc on the cheap; but ever how it was done, and for the many pieces of this organization that have contributed to this day, THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
If I could bring back one player from Nats teams past to revel in this moment, it would be Kevin Frandsen. That guy was all hustle and enthusiasm. I've seen him run from left field to back up third base when the pitcher was backing up home. When I helped coach my daughter's softball team I told the players "There's something for you to do on every play. Know what it is and do it." That's how Frandsen played the game. I loved it.
For all my favorite Nats through the years--Gio Gonzalez, Adam LaRoche, Pudge Rodriguez, Jayson Werth, Chad Cordero, Jordan Zimmermann, Jose Lobaton, Ian Desmond, Denard Span, Michael Morse, and the first Nationals manager, Frank Robinson, and a whole bunch I'm leaving out-- you're part of this too. Thank you all.
@WiredHK second everything you said, and just will share this from Zimm
"Bryce Harper is a phenomenal player. One of the best players I've ever played with. That's the business part of this game. You can't keep everybody. We would love to keep him, we would love to keep anybody who's been a really good player here. That's just not how it works out. He's a big part of why we're here today, as well."
I hope ALCS goes to 7, which means both Astros and Yankees arms are out of sockets for first 2 games. We can steal those 2 games if our hitting stays this hot. However, winning 2 out of next 5 would not be easy against either of these 2 teams. Home cooking might help.
Its going to be exciting 7 games if it goes that far.
Today is about this TEAM. A team that has chemistry and fun to watch. Lets cut out Bryce Harper out of all this. He is gone. Lets behave like human beings should. We have lots to celebrate.
If I'm going to indulge in schadenfreude and savoring vengeance for past wrongs, I'm going to focus on the ones that matter: exorcising the spirit of 2012 by defeating the Cardinals, whose devil magic set us on the path to the "Nationals Can't Win In The Playoffs" narrative, and most of all...
I would love to play the Yankees, just because the Washington/New York proximity and rivalry would make for good narratives and because of the better matchups our host has mentioned before. But Houston has been a beast of a franchise in the last few years, they were the best team in MLB this year, and you always want to beat the best. I also have this feeling like the warmer weather in Houston versus New York will benefit the Nats, but the results in St. Louis don't really bear that hunch out.
Either way, we're in the World Series, which is not a thing I ever thought I would be able to say. Win or lose in the 'ship, it's been one hell of a season, and I will never forget the 2019 Nationals.
Definitely was feeling that 2012 flashback during the 8th inning though. You could see the ghost of Pete Kozma standing in the box, and it was so easy to imagine how it would fall apart. But that didn't happen, because this is 2019 and for whatever reason, things are different this year.
On a negative note, kind of bummed TBS didn't do those slow motion shots of each play celebrating. Easily one of my favorite things about the Postseason. If anyone uncovers this, mind posting a link?
Despite the horrors of listening to Joe Buck for 5? 6? 7? games, I think overall, Fox will do a much better job with the production than TBS.
I moved to DC just in time to endure the latter half of the first 100-loss season and have been a die-hard fan since. This is fantastic. This 2019 really is something special. Hope the ALCS goes seven games, with extra innings in G6 and G7. Don't care who wins after that. Can't wait for next week.
Man what I wouldn't give for more upgrades in the pen. I remember those mid-season debates about how it wouldn't matter. I guess the counter to that is there weren't many choices for Davey to mess up. and how about Tanner???
Cheers everyone! And thanks to Harper for this blog and all the helpful Nats insight over all these years. What a great Nats team and one we will all remember for the best of our lives.
Moved to DC in 2003, have been a Nats fan since 2004 (yes, 2004) when I got my first Nats cap at the unveiling of the team name at Union Station. I had been rooting for the Grays as the name, but was glad for Nationals over Senators.
Thank you so much, Harper, for continuing this blog when all the other original Nats blogs fell by the wayside (though I see Nats Enquirer had its first update in years last night!). Really appreciate this for a decade a half.
Likewise, it was nice to see Svrluga do the game wrap last night for the Post. From the Viera Panera to the World Series!
Unbelievable year. Four more curly W's to put in the books. It was amazing being at the game last night and being there to celebrate. Not quite as wildly jubilant as the Wild Card Game cause I think we had been anticipating it for an entire day with the Cards on the ropes while the Wild Card Game was five outs from elimination yet again to catharsis in like five minutes. But last night was the most important day in this franchise's long history. Was great seeing Expos gear around the park all postseason long as well.
I just remembered this from High School in DC - my chemistry teacher in I believe 2004 had a pennant above his desk in his classroom that said "Washington Needs Baseball: Baseball Needs Washington."
Does anyone else remember these?
So cool to connect this dot and be on the way to WS now. This same teacher also gave his phone number to students in case they ever were in a "bad situation" at a party or elsewhere and needed a sober ride home. Was he a Nats OG because he was a good guy, or was he a good guy because he was a Nats OG?
BTW... just say no to Joe Buck! Using Charlie and Dave's radio broadcast through the MLB App, it is an A+ experience when syncing the (muted) TV with the best radio team in the bigs (and it's easy to do). I was able to completely avoid Ernie Johnson and Frenchy Francoeur and the rest of those schlubs.
Joe Buck speaks in all caps, in every scenario, in his grating monotone.
LINE DRIVE TO CENTER, A BASE HIT FOR ALTUVE. I HAVE TO TAKE THE CAT TO THE VET ON TUESDAY. TURNS OUT SNOWBALL HAS A BAD CASE OF WORMS. BREGMAN DEEP TO LEFT ANNNND...GONE.
He is the worst. Tune him out! Up with Charlie and Dave! Go Nats!
Three quick things to note about last night and WS that should get emphasized. (1) Rainey hasn’t looked this good all year. He really seems to be rounding into form. Now, is he the closer-level shut down guy I think he *could* be? No. But he is trustworthy now. That’s a big big development. Something to keep in mind: all year he has been very tough on RHH. LHH is a different story. In that sense he could be a huge weapon vs BOTH Yanks and astros. (2) Soto looked legitimately out of sorts for not just games 1-3 of this series, but also for last half of September and for spots of the NLDS. Just swinging and missing way more than usual and pulling off ball and getting steady dose of breaking balls. He looked fixed last night. Maybe just one game. But he looked way better.
(3) do you use Howie or Cabrera as DH in WS? They both are bad in the field. Cabrera is more sure handed but has less range. I also feel like for Howie maybe u want to not change anything about his playing experience given the role he is on. I actually think I would DH Cabrera. Howie’s errors IMO were uncharacteristic, and he’s not as much of a statue as Cabrera, plus I don’t want to mess with howies mojo.
Congratulations to the Nationals -- and to the much-maligned Dave Martinez and Mike Rizzo. Nice to see new folks posting.
I attribute some of the Nats success to Harper -- the guy who hosts this fabulous blog.
Now to some specifics:
1. I think Cabrera will play 2nd in the AL home games. He's a better fielder than Kendrick (but not good). 2. Any chance that Sanchez gets Game 3 and Corbin goes in Game 4? Corbin has an amazing slider, but when he gets tired, he really falls off a cliff. The Game 3 pitcher also, presumably, pitches Game 7 (if needed). 3. Never would have thought Ryan Z. would even be playing, let alone come up big in the playoffs. Even though he can't throw the ball, he is by far the best fielder among our first basemen. 4. With all due respect to Harper the Blogger (and Yankees fan), I'd like to play Houston. I really don't want to deal with 10,000 - 15,000 Yankees fans at Nats park. It will diminish the experience. 5. Do the Nats get to change their 25 man roster? If so, does anyone foresee any changes?
@PotomacFan. 1. Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t think they can change their roster. I only am thinking this because there was chatter about “should the Yankees take Stanton off the ALCS roster but if they do, then he’s not available for WS.”
2. You gotta go with Corbin Game 3 and i don’t think that’s a close call. You need your best swing and miss stuff against the Astros or Yankees and Corbin has the great stuff. I do think however that Corbin seemed to tire early....perhaps due to the changes to his routine with the relieving.
The Nats can change their roster. The issue with Stanton is that you can replace an injured player in the middle of a series, but if you do, he has to sit out the next series.
What a great night of great night's! I bought the dugout lineup card for the game when we clinched the WC berth. Caught a foul ball in the WC that I went with my daughter and wore the same pants socks 3/4 Nats undershirt and my Mark Reynolds player worn Jackie Robinson jersey for every game. Then to cap it all off I bought a $20 ticket for 50/50 Dream Foundation raffle...
I grew up in DC and used to go to Senators games at RFK. Frank Howard, Del Unser and Mike Epstein were my favorite players (Frank Howard's last Senators' home run was removed from the books when angry fans spilled onto the field and prematurely ended the last game before Short moved the team to Texas). Like the early Nats, the Senators were always a losing proposition.
When DC brought in a new team, I became a baseball fan again, even though I've lived in Nairobi for years. When returning in the summer, I always catch a few games with my brother.
Getting to the World Series is especially sweet for those of us who suffered the losing ways of the Robert Short's Senators and the early Nats.
@BxJaycobb Apologies for riling you up about Bryce. I did not participate in the earlier BH discussions. My point is that the 2019 Nats seem to be much less about individuals and more one-for-all and all-for-one. Whether or not the excellent back-against-the-wall play has to do with the departure of certain players, I can't say. My belief is that the 2019 karma is better, that ego in the dugout is under control or better channeled. I have no numbers to back this up. That is all./
I'd love to go to one of the WS games... SRO tickets are $800+. Tickets will likely cost less money if they play the Astros. Either way, let's hope the ALCS goes 7 games with game 7 being 18 innings.
Watching that last cardinals-nats game, 2 funny things stood out for whatever reason. 1) anybody else see that dude in the front row wearing all the marlins gear? Dude was distracting the hell outta me for some reason. And for whatever reason was making me unreasonably angry. Lol
2) loved how after the double switch when dozier came in and Hudson was in trouble Gomes and of all people Dozier came running up to the mound like "I haven't played all damm series but I'm here to make you feel better dude". Hudson was thinking "who are you?" (I actually like dozier, just ragging on him a bit)
PS. Totally forgot about Matt Weiters. He looked like he lost some weight. Was thinking the whole at bat he looked hungry. Somebody get that man a pot roast.
@Josh, if you're streaming the game the radio will probably be ahead of the TV. Pause the audio on the MLB app when you hear the pitch hit the catcher's mitt, then wait until it happens onscreen, press play again to sync. Sometimes it takes a few tries, and I have to do it again every few innings when it gets out of whack.
I use Sling for TV, which is about 30 seconds behind the app. Not ideal, because I was getting texts from buddies after Howie's grand slam before I saw it happen--but it was kinda cool because I knew something big was coming.
If you're watching on real, non-internet TV, then assuming you have TiVo or whatever the kids call it these days, just pause the TV until the audio catches up.
It usually takes me 5-10 pitches to get the online radio synced to the TV. The radio feed through MLB.com is almost always ahead of the TV. I listen for the pitch to hit the glove/bat on the radio, then start counting seconds. As soon as the pitch makes contact on TV, pause the radio, count however many seconds, and start the radio again. It won't be right because you're not a digital timer, but usually within the next few pitches I can get the radio and TV to less than a quarter second apart--close enough that I don't notice the lag. The big downside is that if you pause too long, you'll have to reset the audio to live and start over.
If you're streaming the video on a computer through MLBtv, you can skip all the syncing work and choose an alternate audio feed. If you're watching on an illegal stream, which you should absolutely never do, or you have DVR on your TV, it's easier because you can pause/start either the audio or the video, whichever is ahead.
It's a hassle to sync it up manually, but the radio guys are so much better than the national broadcast that it's easily worth it over the course of the game.
@Josh and Josh - that's exactly right. I use my iPhone for the audio through MLB At Bat, cranked up. I use the cable TV broadcast, which is typically slightly behind the audio. I then just pause the iPhone audio (pause/play...pause/play) until I get em lined up.
It's not sync'd up through the same device... but it's sync'd up. Even if it were 1970s transistor radio quality audio, I'd do it happily, rather than hear Joe Buck.
@JDBrew: Just want to point out that Dozier would also be going to the mound to make sure he had the sign sequence right if Gomes was changing it. Of course the ball found him and he bobbled it, but recovered nicely.
I think you play Cabrera at 2B against righties in the AL Park, Dozier against lefties. Remember, the Nats caught lightning in a bottle with Cabrera, but he is not an especially good hitter. Still, I think Howie's legs could use the rest and DHing presents its own set of challenges, namely staying loose. I think Howie is better suited for that than Cabrera.
Also, as one of the many who has been hard on DM, I must say I'm impressed with his playoff performance. Also, also, as someone who has been hard on Rizzo for failing at the Amateur draft and failing to build a bullpen, I stand by all my comments regardless of them making the World Series.
Born in DC Hospital Center, lived my whole life in the area. Family was not a baseball family so I have no memory at all of the Senators although I was nine when they left. My brother & I got into baseball on our own and became big fans ... of the Yankees. Even though at the time (the early 70's) the Yankees sucked and the O's were the class of the AL East. Couldn't bring myself to root for Baltimore, though. We read everything we could about baseball, and if you read about baseball history you're reading about the Yankees. So we jumped on a broken down decrepit bandwagon. Chris Chambliss's HR in the 1976 ALCS was a HUGE moment for us. Got to meet some of the players at Yankees fantasy camp in 2002. Still root for the Yankees when they're not playing the Nats.
Because it's all about home town baseball and the community in DC. I had one of those gimmicky "Baseball in '87" bank accounts that was supposed to be a draw for a team. Got my first Nats jersey from the tractor-trailer "team store" in the RFK parking lot a week after the team move was announced. Partial plan holder for years, and up until Game 5 of the 2017 NLDS I'd been to every Nats playoff home game. I missed that one because I went into the hospital with what turned out to be leukemia. A bone marrow transplant last year cost me the first (and probably only in my lifetime) All Star Game in DC. Not out of the woods yet, but my recovery has gone well enough that I'm able to attend baseball games. I attended 21 games this season, and every home postseason game (plus the NLDS Game 5 watch party, which was great). I could sell my WS tickets for a really nice profit, but eff that. Life is short. Go Nats!
Like Nattydread, I grew up in DC and went to Senators games when Williams was managing the squad. Lord, I'd forgotten about Mike Epstein. My grandfather lived up outside Harpers Ferry and used to listen to the games on the radio. I never understood the allure...until I reached adulthood. One thing you learn is how bad announces can make baseball on the radio as boring as it's stereotypically made out to be. I learned that by having to listen to Cards games. Their announcer (now finally retired) was atrocious. Good radio announcers are gold.
When baseball finally came back to DC, I got back into baseball despite living in the middle of "Cardinals Nation". Whenever I have a chance to schedule a work trip back to DC, I always try to have it coincide with a home game. Several years back the Nats played the Royals in interleague play, then the Zombie Cardinals. I went to all six games and we won 5/6. How unlike the early days when I'd faithfully go to an April series at Busch, weather was miserable as was the team.
I have friends who are Fucking Yankees (tm) fans so playing them would make for great, online trash talking. Might even be a better matchup for the Nats. But then there's the added pressure of winning for the Nats as well as denying the Fucking Yankees (tm) yet another World Series title.
Born in DC and grew up going to a couple of Senators games a year and watching on TV (Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4") was their cool theme song, I believe starting the year Teddy Ballgame managed the team. That was a great year--actually had a winning team and a chance at third place at the end of the season. Listened to the final game on a hidden transistor radio. Didn't follow a team again until '77 when a friend with a driver's license started driving up to Memorial. Became an O's fan--those years at Memorial were awesome. Saw the last game there, the opening of Camden, the All Star game in '93. Moved out to the Shenandoah and only saw a game or so a year. When the Nats came to town, I immediately burned all the O's stuff and went to RFK. Make it in for a few games every year, saw Teddy's first win when they clinched in '12. Saw the first playoff game from the front of 105. I'll be down at the beach when the Series comes to town and look forward to seeing the victory in 5!
I have been a Nats fan since they arrived. I bought a grey Nats road jersey when uniforms were revealed. I had a blue Nats road hat as well. I was an Astro's fan for a while when there was a rumor they were moving to DC back in the late-90's. Before that, I did root for the Orioles when Davey Johnson was the manager. When I was a kid, I saw Dwight Gooden, Daryl Strawberry, and Lenny Dykstra play A-ball. Even then and even though I was just a kid you could tell those guys were light years better than anyone else on the field. Anyway, when Davey came to Baltimore I was briefly a fan. Of course we all know how that ended, so I pretty much hate the Orioles now and have for a while. I was thrilled when Davey became the manager of the Nats. Wished they could have won one for him. That game 5 loss was pretty painful. I admit I was having flashbacks during that 8th inning of game 4 when Hudson hit Molina and walked DeJong. They held on. It is still pretty unbelievable to me the they are in the World Series.
I moved to the DC area in 1996. I grew up in Iowa watching the Iowa/Chicago Cubs and Harry Carey calling the games after school. I spent the glorious summer of '84 living with my cousins in Michigan during the Tigers WS run that year, and spent many a wiffle ball game pretending to be a Tiger. We moved to Michigan in '87, where I hid a small radio under my pillow to listen to Ernie Harwell call the games. Talk about blessed by the baseball announcer gods.
Went to RFK games in '05. Bought a white Nats hat to avoid the whole Red/Blue hat political debate and been a Nats fan since they arrived. Charlie and Dave were a lifeline to me through the MLB app earlier this year. I was listening to spring training and April games in the middle of the night while living in the UK. They definitely are a great broadcast duo, even when listening across the Atlantic.
Thanks for the idea to try and sync the app and the TV broadcast. We can't stand the Fox announcers and will gladly listen to Charlie and Dave instead. I'll give it a try in Game 1.
These stories are so incredible so I can't help but throw in my own.
I grew up a Red Sox fan because of my Dad. I was 11 years old in 2004, and that was... Special. I was a reasonable baseball fan before that, but I watched or listened to every Red Sox playoff game of 2003 and and experienced heartbreak. Then I got the magical 2004 high and was hooked.
Cue the Nationals coming to town in 2005 and I had my own team. I got to go to Fenway twice, but now I could go to games every summer.
My family is actually a split red Sox/Yankees north east family that ended up in Washington and everyone adopted the nationals.
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“Remember where you are, so you remember where you were!” - Charlie Slowes
God I freaking love this team.
These guys are something else. Finally, a new pennant to hang in the stadium. So glad we got to see it happen at home too. Just an incredible ride and a magical year.
Finally!!! I was heartbroken in 1981. It has been a long, hard road. The pen actually came through. It looked iffy at times, but held strong in the end.
Ladies and Gents, I raise a glass in toast to you all, wherever you might be. A toast to the long-sought pennant! Stay in the fight for 4 more wins, boys!
And Happy birthday to Ted Lerner. I've been hard on the Lerners, but glad they clinched it so he could see a World Series team of his own.
I haven't posted in a while, but I've been lurking. I'm sad that this is happening without bryce，and I'm sad that so many fans seem to really hate Bryce, but at the same time this is absolutely incredible.
I love this team and I've gotten to share this run with my family and it has been so special. Recently I have been living out of the country so it has been hard to go to Nationals games with my family. I almost don't care if they win it all now because this has been so special to watch together with my mom and dad.
teams that sweep the LCS never win. We're doomed.
--soulless automaton
Don't worry, Kevin; the 1995 Barves have your statistical back.
(I'm more worried about the Astros/Yankees hitters and bullpens than I am about the layoff...BUT IT'S WORLD SERIES BASEBALL AND I STILL HAVE THINGS TO MAKE ME WORRY!!! ^_^ )
Good karma Nats finally make it!
I have no personal grudges against the guy, but Bryce's bad karma didn't help the team. He bought into the cash-franchise thing and let Boras market him as if he was the second coming of Mickey Mantle. The enduring image of him in Washington is not him as team player, but him winning the home run derby. Bad karma. He isn't Mickey Mantle --- and he never deserved the world record contract that seemed to be his career objective. That he let himself land in Philly was more bad karma. There he is destined to face the wrath of Nats fans who see him as traitor. And the wrath of Phillies fans who will never be satisfied with his output. Happy Birthday Harper.
Strasburg and Rendon have shown that you can still have good karma even if Boras is your agent. Very cool high performing players who get paid without showboating. Soto --- good karma. DM --- good karma. Max --- very very good karma.
Everybody. A toast to the Harper blog and you all on it who I occasionally argue with! It’s only because i love the Washington Nationals!
@Nattydread. Jesus man. Give it a break. The team goes to the World Series and you post about how it’s because Bryce Harper’s cancer has left the clubhouse? What nonsense. They’re going to the World Series because they finally got the big hits in the big moments and caught some breaks. Good for them. None of it has to do with Bryce doing what every pro athlete does. Go where he is offered the most money. Jesus. (To show how loony this ‘his showboating hurt the team’ theory is.....Soto is probably the biggest showboat I’ve ever seen while hitting....or call it whatever u want...he stares down people after TAKING BALLS. LOL. Now I love it. Just like i loved Harper’s style. You need players with style. I can’t believe I’m even taking the time to respond to this. Enough. Bryce Harper brought every person on this blog joy and did nothing wrong. Direct your anger elsewhere—better yet, how about just putting your anger away since the team is in the World Series. A novel thought.
Unforgettable. Staying in Rome, at the Hotel d'Inghliterra. Woke up at 3:30, to check the score (7-4 in the 6th). Finally nodded off at 5:13, when the wonderful news was confirmed. Met a man wearing a red Nats cap (as was I) in front of St. Peters yesterday. We shared a moment of comeradrie -- and regret, that we weren't there in the middle of it. A sign of good fortune, perhaps.
Maintenant, pour le dénouement!
Not gonna lie, when Goldschmidt was up with guys on, and runs in during a long inning....I was starting to think I’d be battling rain at Nats Park today. A pennant is still something great and worth celebrating. Happy for Zim and Howie.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, THE NATS ARE PLAYIN' FOORRRRRRRRR RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGS!
If playoffs counted toward the vote, DM should be NL MOY:
1) Season started 19-31. But in hindsight, we see that the main causes were inadequate bullpen construction, and injuries, neither of which DM had control over.
2) Possibly on the brink of getting fired, turns the team around. Nats play at 107-win pace for 112 games. Dodgers did too, but they have more talent and a weaker division.
3) 4-0 in playoff elimination games (defined as: at least one team can get eliminated with a loss)
4) Worked around a bullpen that had one of the worst ERAs of any playoff team in baseball history. There were those who thought that it didn't matter if the Nats made the playoffs or not because the bullpen was so bad.
Watched the first three innings and, by that time, the Cards just weren't looking like they could catch the Nats - and in the first inning the Nats just seemed to hit it where the Cards weren't, or the Cards were imploding.
That, and it's a) a work night and b) when/if the Nats bring in the pen I don't want to see the Nats lose a six run lead.
jesus, I still can't believe it.
Wow, I can't believe it either. I'm so freakin excited!!
That eighth inning was TENSE. I had to keep reminding myself that they had a 3 run lead, AND a 3 game lead, AND they'd already exorcised the demons. It felt like 2012 all over again, for a hot minute.
Now we just have to hope the Yankees win the ALCS in 7. Yanks-Nats would be epic, and also more do-able for the Nats. Then again, they toppled the Dodgers, so why not the Stros too?
WORLD SERIES!!!!!
@Bx - I agree, enough about Bryce. But.... since some of us can't help ourselves...
Bryce and Soto are both "showboats," fine - I'll give you that. But there is a difference between those two guys. I have images of Bryce hitting walkoff dingers and winning the homerun derby in DC, and it looks like he's riding a horse, sword drawn, with flames everywhere, ready to conquer the world. It's polarizing. A lot of it is not his fault, coming in with the hype bestowed upon the once-in-a-generation talent that he was. Juan Soto, carries himself differently. I have images of Juan hitting monster home runs and clutch hits, and I see a little boy playing backyard baseball with his friends, loving every minutes of it. Its a child-like love for the game that you don't see very often.
I remember last year, it was Soto's first week up with the team and he hits a double in the gap. Standing on second base, you see a grin creep across his face as he looks toward his dugout, but then disappears quickly and you see a scowl, excitement gone. The camera pans to the dugout and Bryce is on the top step with a similar look of determination pointing out at Soto and clapping his hands, yelling "lets go!" Maybe its just me, but that fun-loving infectious smile was tamped down in favor of the status quo: "the boring Nats, here to do their job, and go home."
This team is so fun. They are hear because of the big hits and timely pitching, but that same team got out of a 19-31 start to reach the World Series. That's due to chemistry. That's due to a manager sticking by his players. I firmly believe that this run is impossible with a player as polarizing (in a good way) as Bryce Harper. The narrative would have been "Bryce Harper finally leads his team to the World Series." The headlines this morning read something much more team-centric, and I love it.
lol @NattyDread lays the bait and @Bx can't resist taking it! a classic tussle on the morning after winning the pennant. as much as you hate it @Bx, the Bryce cloud will never be forgotten when people discuss the 2019 Nationals run, for better or worse.
WE GOIN TO DA "SHIP! No, I'm not originally from DC but lived there 2001-2013 I started following the Nats when they drafted Stras. Fell in love at the 14-strikeout debut. Went all in as a fan during the 2012 run. This is awesome. I truly thought the window had closed. Sports are funny that way - look at the 2018 Caps.
AWESOME!
Worries:
-Long layoff. Grandy last night talked about playing on two teams that swept CS series and lost edge over the layoff, lost WS.
-Astros: don't see our starters having such gems against their lineup. Corbin especially. Think Max can hold them to 2 runs over 7, and Stras if he is STRAS, but Corbin and Sanchez will have a much tougher time.
-Astros: Their big three may be worse for our lineup than our big three for theirs. Whatever. WS!!!
also @BX re: Soto shuffling versus Bryce villainy: Soto does not have the same background as Bryce and comes across as super humble in both body language and verbiage when he's not in the box. Again, might not all be Bryce's fault in terms of his childhood and upbringing, but you can admit it's not the same.
The Nats pitching is madness right now. It's on another plane beyond great. Corbin had a rough inning, so of course the bullpen picked him up. This is the bet Rizzo has always believed in making. Kudos to him leaning into his belief and sticking with it.
I think the contrast with the Yankees starting pitching approach (only two times through the order and done) would make for the most interesting WS (and a fun plus being Harper blogging about his two favorite teams in one spot).
Good times. Oh also, I have zero ill will towards Bryce Harper nor do I think throwing this in his face is something Nats fans need to do with dumb signs and tweets. Who cares? It is what it is. He wasn't really wanted here by management, so he took the best deal he could find. Case closed.
The Nationals have won the National League Pennant. The Nationals are going to the World Series. FINALLY THOSE WORDS CAN BE SAID, after so much post-season heartache. I moved to the DC metro area in 1989 and have waited since then for this moment. From having no baseball at all except to go to effing Baltimore and root for whoever was playing the blankety blank blank blanking Orioles to National League Champions....I am simply giddy with disbelief.
I've been a severe critic of Mark Lerner, Mike Rizzo, Davey Martinez, and Kevin Long, and I don't think this one pennant victory justifies building a team solely on spending like mad on starting pitching with everything else cobbled together ad hoc on the cheap; but ever how it was done, and for the many pieces of this organization that have contributed to this day, THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
If I could bring back one player from Nats teams past to revel in this moment, it would be Kevin Frandsen. That guy was all hustle and enthusiasm. I've seen him run from left field to back up third base when the pitcher was backing up home. When I helped coach my daughter's softball team I told the players "There's something for you to do on every play. Know what it is and do it." That's how Frandsen played the game. I loved it.
For all my favorite Nats through the years--Gio Gonzalez, Adam LaRoche, Pudge Rodriguez, Jayson Werth, Chad Cordero, Jordan Zimmermann, Jose Lobaton, Ian Desmond, Denard Span, Michael Morse, and the first Nationals manager, Frank Robinson, and a whole bunch I'm leaving out-- you're part of this too. Thank you all.
@WiredHK second everything you said, and just will share this from Zimm
"Bryce Harper is a phenomenal player. One of the best players I've ever played with. That's the business part of this game. You can't keep everybody. We would love to keep him, we would love to keep anybody who's been a really good player here. That's just not how it works out. He's a big part of why we're here today, as well."
Capitals announcer John Walton:
Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Night St Louis! We are going to WS after 86 years. It feels amazing.
YES SIR!
I hope ALCS goes to 7, which means both Astros and Yankees arms are out of sockets for first 2 games. We can steal those 2 games if our hitting stays this hot. However, winning 2 out of next 5 would not be easy against either of these 2 teams. Home cooking might help.
Its going to be exciting 7 games if it goes that far.
Today is about this TEAM. A team that has chemistry and fun to watch. Lets cut out Bryce Harper out of all this. He is gone. Lets behave like human beings should. We have lots to celebrate.
Go Nats!
If I'm going to indulge in schadenfreude and savoring vengeance for past wrongs, I'm going to focus on the ones that matter: exorcising the spirit of 2012 by defeating the Cardinals, whose devil magic set us on the path to the "Nationals Can't Win In The Playoffs" narrative, and most of all...
SUCK IT, RICK MONDAY!!!!!
...been waiting 39 years for that one.
I would love to play the Yankees, just because the Washington/New York proximity and rivalry would make for good narratives and because of the better matchups our host has mentioned before. But Houston has been a beast of a franchise in the last few years, they were the best team in MLB this year, and you always want to beat the best. I also have this feeling like the warmer weather in Houston versus New York will benefit the Nats, but the results in St. Louis don't really bear that hunch out.
Either way, we're in the World Series, which is not a thing I ever thought I would be able to say. Win or lose in the 'ship, it's been one hell of a season, and I will never forget the 2019 Nationals.
Definitely was feeling that 2012 flashback during the 8th inning though. You could see the ghost of Pete Kozma standing in the box, and it was so easy to imagine how it would fall apart. But that didn't happen, because this is 2019 and for whatever reason, things are different this year.
WORLD #$!@#$% SERIES!!!!
On a negative note, kind of bummed TBS didn't do those slow motion shots of each play celebrating. Easily one of my favorite things about the Postseason. If anyone uncovers this, mind posting a link?
Despite the horrors of listening to Joe Buck for 5? 6? 7? games, I think overall, Fox will do a much better job with the production than TBS.
I moved to DC just in time to endure the latter half of the first 100-loss season and have been a die-hard fan since. This is fantastic. This 2019 really is something special. Hope the ALCS goes seven games, with extra innings in G6 and G7. Don't care who wins after that. Can't wait for next week.
Man what I wouldn't give for more upgrades in the pen. I remember those mid-season debates about how it wouldn't matter. I guess the counter to that is there weren't many choices for Davey to mess up. and how about Tanner???
WS!!!!!!
Cheers everyone! And thanks to Harper for this blog and all the helpful Nats insight over all these years. What a great Nats team and one we will all remember for the best of our lives.
Moved to DC in 2003, have been a Nats fan since 2004 (yes, 2004) when I got my first Nats cap at the unveiling of the team name at Union Station. I had been rooting for the Grays as the name, but was glad for Nationals over Senators.
Thank you so much, Harper, for continuing this blog when all the other original Nats blogs fell by the wayside (though I see Nats Enquirer had its first update in years last night!). Really appreciate this for a decade a half.
Likewise, it was nice to see Svrluga do the game wrap last night for the Post. From the Viera Panera to the World Series!
Unbelievable year. Four more curly W's to put in the books. It was amazing being at the game last night and being there to celebrate. Not quite as wildly jubilant as the Wild Card Game cause I think we had been anticipating it for an entire day with the Cards on the ropes while the Wild Card Game was five outs from elimination yet again to catharsis in like five minutes. But last night was the most important day in this franchise's long history. Was great seeing Expos gear around the park all postseason long as well.
I just remembered this from High School in DC - my chemistry teacher in I believe 2004 had a pennant above his desk in his classroom that said "Washington Needs Baseball: Baseball Needs Washington."
Does anyone else remember these?
So cool to connect this dot and be on the way to WS now. This same teacher also gave his phone number to students in case they ever were in a "bad situation" at a party or elsewhere and needed a sober ride home. Was he a Nats OG because he was a good guy, or was he a good guy because he was a Nats OG?
BTW... just say no to Joe Buck! Using Charlie and Dave's radio broadcast through the MLB App, it is an A+ experience when syncing the (muted) TV with the best radio team in the bigs (and it's easy to do). I was able to completely avoid Ernie Johnson and Frenchy Francoeur and the rest of those schlubs.
Joe Buck speaks in all caps, in every scenario, in his grating monotone.
LINE DRIVE TO CENTER, A BASE HIT FOR ALTUVE.
I HAVE TO TAKE THE CAT TO THE VET ON TUESDAY. TURNS OUT SNOWBALL HAS A BAD CASE OF WORMS.
BREGMAN DEEP TO LEFT ANNNND...GONE.
He is the worst. Tune him out! Up with Charlie and Dave! Go Nats!
Three quick things to note about last night and WS that should get emphasized.
(1) Rainey hasn’t looked this good all year. He really seems to be rounding into form. Now, is he the closer-level shut down guy I think he *could* be? No. But he is trustworthy now. That’s a big big development. Something to keep in mind: all year he has been very tough on RHH. LHH is a different story. In that sense he could be a huge weapon vs BOTH Yanks and astros.
(2) Soto looked legitimately out of sorts for not just games 1-3 of this series, but also for last half of September and for spots of the NLDS. Just swinging and missing way more than usual and pulling off ball and getting steady dose of breaking balls. He looked fixed last night. Maybe just one game. But he looked way better.
(3) do you use Howie or Cabrera as DH in WS? They both are bad in the field. Cabrera is more sure handed but has less range. I also feel like for Howie maybe u want to not change anything about his playing experience given the role he is on. I actually think I would DH Cabrera. Howie’s errors IMO were uncharacteristic, and he’s not as much of a statue as Cabrera, plus I don’t want to mess with howies mojo.
Congratulations to the Nationals -- and to the much-maligned Dave Martinez and Mike Rizzo. Nice to see new folks posting.
I attribute some of the Nats success to Harper -- the guy who hosts this fabulous blog.
Now to some specifics:
1. I think Cabrera will play 2nd in the AL home games. He's a better fielder than Kendrick (but not good).
2. Any chance that Sanchez gets Game 3 and Corbin goes in Game 4? Corbin has an amazing slider, but when he gets tired, he really falls off a cliff. The Game 3 pitcher also, presumably, pitches Game 7 (if needed).
3. Never would have thought Ryan Z. would even be playing, let alone come up big in the playoffs. Even though he can't throw the ball, he is by far the best fielder among our first basemen.
4. With all due respect to Harper the Blogger (and Yankees fan), I'd like to play Houston. I really don't want to deal with 10,000 - 15,000 Yankees fans at Nats park. It will diminish the experience.
5. Do the Nats get to change their 25 man roster? If so, does anyone foresee any changes?
@PotomacFan.
1. Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t think they can change their roster. I only am thinking this because there was chatter about “should the Yankees take Stanton off the ALCS roster but if they do, then he’s not available for WS.”
2. You gotta go with Corbin Game 3 and i don’t think that’s a close call. You need your best swing and miss stuff against the Astros or Yankees and Corbin has the great stuff. I do think however that Corbin seemed to tire early....perhaps due to the changes to his routine with the relieving.
The Nats can change their roster. The issue with Stanton is that you can replace an injured player in the middle of a series, but if you do, he has to sit out the next series.
What a great night of great night's! I bought the dugout lineup card for the game when we clinched the WC berth. Caught a foul ball in the WC that I went with my daughter and wore the same pants socks 3/4 Nats undershirt and my Mark Reynolds player worn Jackie Robinson jersey for every game. Then to cap it all off I bought a $20 ticket for 50/50 Dream Foundation raffle...
...and had the winning number last night!
Thank you baseball Gods!
Doesn't matter who we play Nats in 6.
LOLOLOLOLOL.
JE34, how do you go about syncing? Probably not that easy if I'm streaming the game too, right?
I grew up in DC and used to go to Senators games at RFK. Frank Howard, Del Unser and Mike Epstein were my favorite players (Frank Howard's last Senators' home run was removed from the books when angry fans spilled onto the field and prematurely ended the last game before Short moved the team to Texas). Like the early Nats, the Senators were always a losing proposition.
When DC brought in a new team, I became a baseball fan again, even though I've lived in Nairobi for years. When returning in the summer, I always catch a few games with my brother.
Getting to the World Series is especially sweet for those of us who suffered the losing ways of the Robert Short's Senators and the early Nats.
@BxJaycobb Apologies for riling you up about Bryce. I did not participate in the earlier BH discussions. My point is that the 2019 Nats seem to be much less about individuals and more one-for-all and all-for-one. Whether or not the excellent back-against-the-wall play has to do with the departure of certain players, I can't say. My belief is that the 2019 karma is better, that ego in the dugout is under control or better channeled. I have no numbers to back this up. That is all./
I'd love to go to one of the WS games... SRO tickets are $800+. Tickets will likely cost less money if they play the Astros. Either way, let's hope the ALCS goes 7 games with game 7 being 18 innings.
Watching that last cardinals-nats game, 2 funny things stood out for whatever reason.
1) anybody else see that dude in the front row wearing all the marlins gear? Dude was distracting the hell outta me for some reason. And for whatever reason was making me unreasonably angry. Lol
2) loved how after the double switch when dozier came in and Hudson was in trouble Gomes and of all people Dozier came running up to the mound like "I haven't played all damm series but I'm here to make you feel better dude". Hudson was thinking "who are you?" (I actually like dozier, just ragging on him a bit)
PS. Totally forgot about Matt Weiters. He looked like he lost some weight. Was thinking the whole at bat he looked hungry. Somebody get that man a pot roast.
@Josh, if you're streaming the game the radio will probably be ahead of the TV. Pause the audio on the MLB app when you hear the pitch hit the catcher's mitt, then wait until it happens onscreen, press play again to sync. Sometimes it takes a few tries, and I have to do it again every few innings when it gets out of whack.
I use Sling for TV, which is about 30 seconds behind the app. Not ideal, because I was getting texts from buddies after Howie's grand slam before I saw it happen--but it was kinda cool because I knew something big was coming.
If you're watching on real, non-internet TV, then assuming you have TiVo or whatever the kids call it these days, just pause the TV until the audio catches up.
@JD, I guess you haven't been watching postseason baseball lately: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlins_Man
"Years active: 2012-Present"
@Josh re: syncing the audio:
It usually takes me 5-10 pitches to get the online radio synced to the TV. The radio feed through MLB.com is almost always ahead of the TV. I listen for the pitch to hit the glove/bat on the radio, then start counting seconds. As soon as the pitch makes contact on TV, pause the radio, count however many seconds, and start the radio again. It won't be right because you're not a digital timer, but usually within the next few pitches I can get the radio and TV to less than a quarter second apart--close enough that I don't notice the lag. The big downside is that if you pause too long, you'll have to reset the audio to live and start over.
If you're streaming the video on a computer through MLBtv, you can skip all the syncing work and choose an alternate audio feed. If you're watching on an illegal stream, which you should absolutely never do, or you have DVR on your TV, it's easier because you can pause/start either the audio or the video, whichever is ahead.
It's a hassle to sync it up manually, but the radio guys are so much better than the national broadcast that it's easily worth it over the course of the game.
I'd noticed the Marlins Man a couple of times but thought nothing of it.
Now if he starts wearing a rainbow wig and holding up a sign with "John 3:16" on it then . . .
@Josh and Josh - that's exactly right. I use my iPhone for the audio through MLB At Bat, cranked up. I use the cable TV broadcast, which is typically slightly behind the audio. I then just pause the iPhone audio (pause/play...pause/play) until I get em lined up.
It's not sync'd up through the same device... but it's sync'd up. Even if it were 1970s transistor radio quality audio, I'd do it happily, rather than hear Joe Buck.
Funny thing is, I am always watching post-season baseball. Just never really noticed the marlins man until that game. Too funny.
@JE, in my house we refer to him as Joe Buck Yourself.
@JDBrew: Just want to point out that Dozier would also be going to the mound to make sure he had the sign sequence right if Gomes was changing it. Of course the ball found him and he bobbled it, but recovered nicely.
I think you play Cabrera at 2B against righties in the AL Park, Dozier against lefties. Remember, the Nats caught lightning in a bottle with Cabrera, but he is not an especially good hitter. Still, I think Howie's legs could use the rest and DHing presents its own set of challenges, namely staying loose. I think Howie is better suited for that than Cabrera.
Also, as one of the many who has been hard on DM, I must say I'm impressed with his playoff performance. Also, also, as someone who has been hard on Rizzo for failing at the Amateur draft and failing to build a bullpen, I stand by all my comments regardless of them making the World Series.
Born in DC Hospital Center, lived my whole life in the area. Family was not a baseball family so I have no memory at all of the Senators although I was nine when they left. My brother & I got into baseball on our own and became big fans ... of the Yankees. Even though at the time (the early 70's) the Yankees sucked and the O's were the class of the AL East. Couldn't bring myself to root for Baltimore, though. We read everything we could about baseball, and if you read about baseball history you're reading about the Yankees. So we jumped on a broken down decrepit bandwagon. Chris Chambliss's HR in the 1976 ALCS was a HUGE moment for us. Got to meet some of the players at Yankees fantasy camp in 2002. Still root for the Yankees when they're not playing the Nats.
Because it's all about home town baseball and the community in DC. I had one of those gimmicky "Baseball in '87" bank accounts that was supposed to be a draw for a team. Got my first Nats jersey from the tractor-trailer "team store" in the RFK parking lot a week after the team move was announced. Partial plan holder for years, and up until Game 5 of the 2017 NLDS I'd been to every Nats playoff home game. I missed that one because I went into the hospital with what turned out to be leukemia. A bone marrow transplant last year cost me the first (and probably only in my lifetime) All Star Game in DC. Not out of the woods yet, but my recovery has gone well enough that I'm able to attend baseball games. I attended 21 games this season, and every home postseason game (plus the NLDS Game 5 watch party, which was great). I could sell my WS tickets for a really nice profit, but eff that. Life is short. Go Nats!
Ah, Marlins Man. Attention whore. SB Nation did a piece on him a few years back:
https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/13/15962152/marlins-man-laurence-leavy-all-star-game-miami-who-is-he-really
Like Nattydread, I grew up in DC and went to Senators games when Williams was managing the squad. Lord, I'd forgotten about Mike Epstein. My grandfather lived up outside Harpers Ferry and used to listen to the games on the radio. I never understood the allure...until I reached adulthood. One thing you learn is how bad announces can make baseball on the radio as boring as it's stereotypically made out to be. I learned that by having to listen to Cards games. Their announcer (now finally retired) was atrocious. Good radio announcers are gold.
When baseball finally came back to DC, I got back into baseball despite living in the middle of "Cardinals Nation". Whenever I have a chance to schedule a work trip back to DC, I always try to have it coincide with a home game. Several years back the Nats played the Royals in interleague play, then the Zombie Cardinals. I went to all six games and we won 5/6. How unlike the early days when I'd faithfully go to an April series at Busch, weather was miserable as was the team.
I have friends who are Fucking Yankees (tm) fans so playing them would make for great, online trash talking. Might even be a better matchup for the Nats. But then there's the added pressure of winning for the Nats as well as denying the Fucking Yankees (tm) yet another World Series title.
Born in DC and grew up going to a couple of Senators games a year and watching on TV (Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4") was their cool theme song, I believe starting the year Teddy Ballgame managed the team. That was a great year--actually had a winning team and a chance at third place at the end of the season. Listened to the final game on a hidden transistor radio. Didn't follow a team again until '77 when a friend with a driver's license started driving up to Memorial. Became an O's fan--those years at Memorial were awesome. Saw the last game there, the opening of Camden, the All Star game in '93. Moved out to the Shenandoah and only saw a game or so a year. When the Nats came to town, I immediately burned all the O's stuff and went to RFK. Make it in for a few games every year, saw Teddy's first win when they clinched in '12. Saw the first playoff game from the front of 105. I'll be down at the beach when the Series comes to town and look forward to seeing the victory in 5!
I have been a Nats fan since they arrived. I bought a grey Nats road jersey when uniforms were revealed. I had a blue Nats road hat as well. I was an Astro's fan for a while when there was a rumor they were moving to DC back in the late-90's. Before that, I did root for the Orioles when Davey Johnson was the manager. When I was a kid, I saw Dwight Gooden, Daryl Strawberry, and Lenny Dykstra play A-ball. Even then and even though I was just a kid you could tell those guys were light years better than anyone else on the field. Anyway, when Davey came to Baltimore I was briefly a fan. Of course we all know how that ended, so I pretty much hate the Orioles now and have for a while. I was thrilled when Davey became the manager of the Nats. Wished they could have won one for him. That game 5 loss was pretty painful. I admit I was having flashbacks during that 8th inning of game 4 when Hudson hit Molina and walked DeJong. They held on. It is still pretty unbelievable to me the they are in the World Series.
I moved to the DC area in 1996. I grew up in Iowa watching the Iowa/Chicago Cubs and Harry Carey calling the games after school. I spent the glorious summer of '84 living with my cousins in Michigan during the Tigers WS run that year, and spent many a wiffle ball game pretending to be a Tiger. We moved to Michigan in '87, where I hid a small radio under my pillow to listen to Ernie Harwell call the games. Talk about blessed by the baseball announcer gods.
Went to RFK games in '05. Bought a white Nats hat to avoid the whole Red/Blue hat political debate and been a Nats fan since they arrived. Charlie and Dave were a lifeline to me through the MLB app earlier this year. I was listening to spring training and April games in the middle of the night while living in the UK. They definitely are a great broadcast duo, even when listening across the Atlantic.
Thanks for the idea to try and sync the app and the TV broadcast. We can't stand the Fox announcers and will gladly listen to Charlie and Dave instead. I'll give it a try in Game 1.
@Bx are you LOLing because of my WS prediction? Hey you gotta be optimistic right?
😉
These stories are so incredible so I can't help but throw in my own.
I grew up a Red Sox fan because of my Dad. I was 11 years old in 2004, and that was... Special. I was a reasonable baseball fan before that, but I watched or listened to every Red Sox playoff game of 2003 and and experienced heartbreak. Then I got the magical 2004 high and was hooked.
Cue the Nationals coming to town in 2005 and I had my own team. I got to go to Fenway twice, but now I could go to games every summer.
My family is actually a split red Sox/Yankees north east family that ended up in Washington and everyone adopted the nationals.
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