During his American League career, Babe Ruth appeared in 171 games at the ballpark that became known as Griffith Stadium, including his last two in a Yankees’ uniform – September 29 and 30, 1934. His homer in the first game of a doubleheader on September 29, a three-run shot, was the last he hit as … Continue reading Ruth hit his last Yankee homer at Griffith Stadium →

On April 27, 1960, at Yankee Stadium, 21-year-old left-hander Jim Kaat gave up three hits and one earned run in seven innings as the Senators beat Hall-of-Famer Whitey Ford. It was Kaat’s only win in a Washington uniform over parts of the 1959 and ’60 seasons. 1960 t Kaat was signed by the Senators in … Continue reading Jim Kaat, last of the Griffith Nats, had a near Hall-of-Fame career →

In October 1911, as the Philadelphia Athletics were playing the New York Giants in the World Series. Edward J. Walsh, a founding owner and director of  Washington’s American League team, met with Cincinnati Manager Clark Griffith at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. That meeting helped determine the fate of Major League Baseball in Washington for nearly … Continue reading Ed Walsh, an original Nats owner, recruited Clark Griffith →

Leon "Goose" Goslin and Joe Judge, who helped Washington win the World Series in 1924 and an American League pennant in '25, became the first two players in the post-1900 era to hit back-to-back homers twice in the same game. It happened on the afternoon of May 26, 1930, at Yankee Stadium. The Senators were … Continue reading May 26, 1930: Goslin, Judge first to hit back-to-back homers twice in the same game →

Three former expansion Senators – Chuck Hinton, Jim Hannan and Fred Valentine – helped found the  Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in February 1982, recruiting more than a dozen other former players. The organization today has more than 8,600 members. Brooks Robinson is the group’s current president and several other Hall of Famers serve … Continue reading Former Nats founded the players alumni association →

Charles Everd “Gabby” Street played in the majors for seven seasons as a catcher with the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, New York Highlanders, St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Senators, where he spent four years as Walter Johnson’s personal catcher. In the midst of his playing career, he survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and … Continue reading Gabby Street’s Monumental catch →

Relief pitcher Ed Roebuck, who spent two months of the 1963 season and another one in ’64 with the Senators, was one of the game’s greatest fungo hitters. As a child, according to Paul Hirsch’s SABR bio essay, Roebuck liked to pass time hitting stones with a stick. The pitcher became so good at making … Continue reading Ed Roebuck: Fungo hitter extraordinaire →

One of the nation’s best baseball writers, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, has a knack for shedding new light on his subjects, which is precisely what he did in a 2021 column about Trea Turner. (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/sports/baseball/trea-turner-nationals.html) Kepner called Turner “baseball’s most overlooked superstar,” pointing out that the Nats’ shortstop topped the much-touted Fernando … Continue reading Trea Turner: the “most overlooked superstar” →

Before Juan Soto finished with the National League’s highest batting average in 2020, playing in 47 of Washington’s 60 games, four players with the original Washington Senators had won American League batting titles. One of them – Mickey Vernon -- did it twice: in 1946 and 1953. Unlike the other three winners, his batting titles, … Continue reading Did Goslin and Myer really lead the A.L. in batting? →

The original Washington National Baseball Club was a top-level, ostensibly amateur, team in the 1860s. But like other highly skilled teams of that era, the team was made up of what are often known as “ringers” brought in from elsewhere and given no-show jobs by wealthy and well-connected baseball enthusiasts. The first professional league, the … Continue reading The 1867 Nationals Western Tour →