Table of Content

  • Sept. 21, 2025: Parker records Nats’ longest save, Young makes kick-save catch

    Lefty Mitchell Parker, a promising rookie in 2024, pitched so poorly for nearly five months in 2025 that he was demoted to the bullpen in late September. At 5.85, he had the highest earned-run average of all qualified MLB starters and was tied for the most loses in the N.L. Yet on Sept. 21 in… Read more

  • Davey Johnson’s legacy

    Former Nationals manager Davey Johnson led the team to its first N.L. East title in what also became its first winning season in 2012. For Johnson, who died at age 82 on Sept. 5, 2025, Washington was the last of five MLB teams he managed, all of them he made winners. For me, Johnson’s tenure… Read more

  • June 6, 2025: Nats set team record for fastest home game

    When the Nationals beat the Rangers, 2-0, on June 6, 2025, in Washington, it was the fastest finish for a home game in team history. Michael Soraka pitched the best game of his short tenure in D.C., yielding two hits in six shutout innings. Brad Lord, Jose Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan held the Rangers hitless… Read more

  • Josh Bell sets modern record with high-pitch homer

    Josh Bell, the Nationals’ designated hitter, began to hit the ball much harder after his average fell to .151 on May 27, 2025. By season’s end, he was up to a less frightening .237. In July, he hit .338 with a .443 on-base percentage. That surge was punctuated by his ninth-inning homer on June 23,… Read more

  • Joe Black: In 1957, the Senators’ first American-born black player

    Although Carlos Paula in 1953 became Washngton’s first acknowledged non-white player, Paula was born in Cuba. In August 1957, the Senators finally had an American-born black player, if only briefly: pitcher Joe Black, the 1952 rookie-of-the year who had helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant.It shouldn’t have taken so long. Griffith Stadium in… Read more

  • May 11, 2016: Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout game

    Washington baseball fans of the past decade no doubt have many fond memories of the great left-hander Max Scherzer. In 2015, Scherzer signed a seven-year contract to pitch for Washington in a deal that set the Nationals up as force in the National League, culminating in a World Series title in 2019. He won two… Read more