Table of Content

  • The University of Maryland, the Nats and MLB

    College Park, home of the University of Maryland’s main campus, is just eight miles by car outside of Washington, D.C. The proximity came into play during World War II when travel restrictions forced major league teams to find spring training sites nearer their home cities. In 1943, ’44 and ’45, the Senators arranged to train… Read more

  • Lefler’s key pinch hits in September 1924

    In the heat of the 1924 pennant race, the Senators acquired veteran minor leaguer Wade Lefler to provide what the team hoped would be a potent bat off the bench. The left-hand hitter did not disappoint. In four pinch-hit at-bats, Lefler drove in six runs with two doubles and a single. His first hit drove… Read more

  • Minnie Minoso, the only expansion Senator in the Hall of Fame

    Orestes “Minnie” Minoso, inducted in 2022, is the only member of the Hall of Fame to have played for the expansion Washington Senators. He did so during that franchise’s worst season, 1963, when he was 39 years old. It was the last time he played on semi-regular basis, appearing 109 games and getting up 363… Read more

  • Howie Kendrick: 2019 post-season hero

    Without the hitting heroics of Howie Kendrick, the Washington Nationals would not have reached the 2019 World Series. The veteran infielder, acquired at the trade deadline in 2017 for a minor league pitcher who never made it, had a career season in 2019. Then, his 10th-inning grand slam beat the favored Dodgers in Game Five… Read more

  • Fred Schulte helped the Nats become 1933 A.L. champs

    Fred Schulte played center field for the pennant-winning 1933 Washington Senators. His three-run homer in Game 5 of the World Series against the Giants pulled the Senators even. But New York won on a 10th-inning homer by Mel Ott that tipped off of Schulte’s glove. The victory gave the Giants the championship, four games to… Read more

  • Win Mercer, 1890s’ heartthrob, two-way star of the N.L. Senators

    George Barclay “Win” Mercer was a 20-game winner in back-to-back seasons for woeful Washington teams in the 1890s’ National League. He batted .305 as a frequently used position player in a five-year stretch from 1897 to 1901. By all accounts, the popular Mercer was a handsome ladies man and a big-time gambler. His nickname, reflecting… Read more