June 1, 2020: The Washington Nationals had seen their 2005 season go south after a 50-31 start kept them in first place in the N.L. East as late as July 25. About to send John Halama, a reclamation project, to face 23-year-old Dontrelle Willis on the Wednesday night after Labor Day, the Nats were five … Continue reading Sept. 7, 2005: Zim’s first start turns into a milestone for Dontrelle Willis →

May 9, 2020 (updated in October): As this was written, every major leaguer healthy enough to be on the field was awaiting that opportunity. How would the layoff affect a team with several key players well into their 30s? (Well, they missed the ridiculously expanded playoffs.) Ryan Zimmerman turns 37 in September. (On June 29, … Continue reading The aging Nats and the effect of playing time lost to crises →

May 1, 2020: Getting caught stealing forever links Ray Morgan to Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore. Getting out of jail—a month into a year’s sentence—when Clark Griffith showed up in court with a scouting job offer—is another reason Morgan has a place in the game’s lore. Morgan played second base for the Washington Senators in … Continue reading Ray Morgan, Nats’ Deadball-era second baseman →

April 20, 2020: In his Hall-of-Fame career, Walter Johnson pitched in 64 games that ended 1-0. He won 38 of them. Johnson came in as a reliever in two of the 1-0 games (he lost both) and he didn’t complete three others. In no fewer than 10 of his 26 losses, the lone run he … Continue reading In 1-0 games, Walter Johnson won 38, lost 26 →

April 4, 2020: When Ryan Zimmerman won the first game at Nationals Park with a walk-off home run in 2008, it was the fourth time Zim had hit a game-ending homer. His total now stands at 11, the last coming on August 22, 2018, against the Phillies. The 11 game-ending home runs tie Zimmerman for … Continue reading Ryan Zimmerman’s 11 walk-off home runs →

March 14, 2020: Clyde Kluttz was a backup catcher in the majors for nine seasons, the last two of them with the Washington Senators in 1951 and ’52, the last Griffith team to finish above .500. After seven years in the National League, Kluttz was sent to the minors by the Pirates after the 1948 … Continue reading Clyde Kluttz, veteran catcher on the last winning Griffith team →

March 13, 2020: I remember reading Douglass Wallop’s 1954 novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant in junior high school around 1960, not knowing at the time that it had been turned into  the hit 1955 Broadway musical Damn Yankees. Wallop was born 100 years ago in Washington, attended the University of Maryland in … Continue reading ‘First in War…’: the myth that never died →

January 13, 2020: After the dramatic comeback win over the Brewers to keep their season alive, the Nationals opened the division series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 3 against Los Angeles, a team that had the league's best won-loss record: 106-56. N.L Division Series Game One: Patrick Corbin started against 14-game-winner Walker Buehler. The Nats … Continue reading How the Nats won the NLDS, NLCS and World Series →

January 10, 2020 (updated August 2020): A number of other places on the web are devoted to Washington, D.C., baseball, past and present. Here's are links to some of them: "The Expansion Nats" Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/463338547208950/ . Because the page is now private, you need an invitation from a current member to join. D.C. Baseball … Continue reading Social media groups and other Nats sites →