After Washington's Griffith Stadium was torn down in February 1965, nearby Howard University acquired the 8.5-acre property for $1.5 million, to build what is now a 250-bed teaching hospital. The hospital opened in 1975. A historic marker, attached to a utility pole, notes existence of the stadium from 1911 until its demolition. The marker, placed … Continue reading A hospital’s mini-tribute to Griffith Stadium
Category: The Washington Nationals, 2005 to date
The former Montreal Expos, relocated to D.C. for the 2005 season
The self-inflicted wounds of the 2021 season
After concluding in late July that the Nationals were not going to compete for a post-season berth, team president and general manager Mike Rizzo jettisoned eight key players on the 2021 team: future Hall-of-Famer Max Scherzer, all-star shortstop Trea Turner, record-setting slugger Kyle Schwarber, veteran utility man Josh Harrison. starting catcher Yan Gomes, closer Brad … Continue reading The self-inflicted wounds of the 2021 season
First umpire to wear glasses did it at Griffith Stadium — in 1956
Ed Rommel, a knuckleballer who won 171 games in 13 seasons beginning in 1920, later spent 22 years as an American League umpire. On April 18, 1956, he became the first umpire in the 20th Century to wear eyeglasses during a game. His groundbreaking move, unnoticed at the time, came at Griffith Stadium on a … Continue reading First umpire to wear glasses did it at Griffith Stadium — in 1956
July 31, 2018: Nationals score a record 25 runs
The 2018 season at the trade deadline hadn’t gone as Dave Martinez had hoped in his first year managing the Nationals. His team, the preseason favorite to repeat as N.L. East champions, were in third place, a game under .500, on July 31. Other than dumping reliever Brandon Kintzler’s salary on the Cubs, General Manager … Continue reading July 31, 2018: Nationals score a record 25 runs
May 8, 2016: Harper’s seven times up with no at-bats
On May 8, 2016, at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the Nationals’ Bryce Harper became the first player in major league history to reach base seven times without an official at-bat. He also became the fourth player to be walked six times in a game. Harper was hit by a pitch the one time he didn’t walk. … Continue reading May 8, 2016: Harper’s seven times up with no at-bats
Kyle Schwarber’s record-setting month
Nationals’ slugger Kyle Schwarber was well known for his prodigious power before coming to Washington from the Cubs. After a slow start, Schwarber had a June 2021 that shattered or matched a number of home-run records. He was a clear choice for N.L. Player of the Month. His 12 home runs in 10 games tied … Continue reading Kyle Schwarber’s record-setting month
Ruth hit his last Yankee homer at Griffith Stadium
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 a Yankee. My 1961 Fleer … Continue reading Ruth hit his last Yankee homer at Griffith Stadium
Ed Walsh, an original Nats owner, recruited Clark Griffith
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
Former Nats founded the players alumni association
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
Gabby Street’s Monumental catch
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
Ed Roebuck: Fungo hitter extraordinaire
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
Trea Turner: the ‘most overlooked superstar’
(December 2022 update: Like Harper before him, Trea Turner likely will finish his career as a Phillie. Worse things could happen, I suppose, but as a Nationals fan, it's hard to think of any.) One of the nation’s best baseball writers, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, has a knack for shedding new light … Continue reading Trea Turner: the ‘most overlooked superstar’
The 1867 Nationals Western Tour
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
A Washington baseball quiz
Try to answer these before looking at BaseballReference.com. The answers to many of them can be found in posts elsewhere on this site. Who played in the last game of the original Senators and in the last game of the expansion Senators? Who in the A.L. finished second in batting average to Ted Williams the … Continue reading A Washington baseball quiz
Is Soto the next Ted Williams? MLB.com thinks so
Update Dec. 24, 2020: On Dec. 5, 2020, under the headline “This young star is the next Ted Williams,” MLB.com’s Mike Petriello took a deep dive into Juan Soto’s performance through the 2020 season. (https://www.mlb.com/news/juan-soto-is-on-hall-of-fame-track) Nationals fans are well aware of how jaw-droppingly good Soto has been since his debut, but it was great to … Continue reading Is Soto the next Ted Williams? MLB.com thinks so
Sanchez and Scherzer: a pair of historic performances
Nov. 1, 2020: Twice in MLB playoff history, a team has had two of its pitchers carry no-hitters into the sixth innings or later in back-to-back games. The two teams were different – the Detroit Tigers in 2013 and the Washington Nationals in 2019 – but the two pitchers were the same: Anibal Sanchez and … Continue reading Sanchez and Scherzer: a pair of historic performances
Stevenson’s outside- and inside-the-park homers
When Andrew Stevenson’s fly ball got past the Mets left fielder in the first game of the Sept. 26, 2020, double-header, the result was an inside-the-park home run, the least common hit in modern baseball. What made Stevenson’s race around the bases even more unusual was what had happened in his previous at-bat: He had … Continue reading Stevenson’s outside- and inside-the-park homers
Four homers in a row? The Nationals have done it twice
Sept. 3, 2020: After it happened for the first time ever in 1961 and then again in 1963 and 1964, no team would hit four consecutive home runs for another 42 years. Then in 2006, the Dodgers began what has become part of an overall homer barrage that has included back-to-back-to-back-to-back clouts six times. Until … Continue reading Four homers in a row? The Nationals have done it twice
Soto’s Citi Field blasts and a look at long homers
Aug. 13, 2020: Two days after Juan Soto hit a 463-foot homer to dead center at New York's Citi Field, the Nationals young slugger topped that with 466-foot blast to right against the Mets, one of two he hit in an 11-6 loss on Aug. 12. Soto's blast, the third longest hit at Citi Field … Continue reading Soto’s Citi Field blasts and a look at long homers
15 years in, here’s where the Nationals stood
June 13, 2020 (updated, May 2021): The 2019 World Series victory was the triumphant culmination of the Nationals’ 15th season since Major League Baseball returned to the Nation’s Capital in 2005. In eight of those full seasons, all of them in a row since 2012, the Nats finished with a winning record, but it took … Continue reading 15 years in, here’s where the Nationals stood
Washington baseball history 