Washington Nationals: What changed for them in 2019?

The Washington Nationals went from a hard luck franchise to World Champions. What changed in 2019?

The Washington Nationals now sit atop the mountain as World Champions after defeating the Houston Astros 4-3 in a best of seven series in what is sure to be remembered as one of the most improbable runs in baseball history.

Way back when, the Nats sat at the bottom of the National League entirely at 19-31 with questions circulating as to whether they would sell off their assets or not, and if Dave Martinez would last the rest of the season as the manager of the club. Though they certainly were a talented team with a stacked rotation and respectable position players, this group seemed to fall under the category of not playing up to its potential- which is why, thankfully, they never lost hope in their season.

But what exactly happened this year to the Nationals as opposed to years prior that enabled them to craft such an inspiring comeback and emerge as the best team of 2019?

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First of all, the subtraction of their superstar, Bryce Harper, in the offseason played a major factor, whether it allowed the team to loosen up without his presence or place a firm chip on the entire team’s shoulders and enhanced their drive due to his departure. I, for one, believe it’s both. The Nats clearly had championship players on the roster already when he was on the team. They even made him a big offer to stay in Washington. But, he decided to decline what the Nats were putting down and join the NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies instead for 13 years and 330 million dollars.

Regardless if that was a good business decision or not for Harper doesn’t matter to them. The bottom line is he was the star and chose to leave his teammates and a city that adored him behind. That will always rile up a fanbase and clubhouse and bring them closer together. Harper ditching them for more money in a rival city is exactly what this team needed to kick it into overdrive and prove everybody wrong this season.

Another huge aspect of this team that allowed them to flourish the way they did was the fact that they were actually the oldest team in baseball. We’ve started to see a youth movement in the big leagues the past couple of years with prospects coming up sooner and making bigger impacts on ball clubs. But what we saw out of these Nationals is that veteran savvy and old school fundamental baseball can still thrive in today’s culture of analytics.

Washington Nationals

It’s also worth noting that there IS such a thing as “veteran leadership” when it comes to clubs that win championships. The game is certainly getting younger and more star-driven, but to get your team over the top, it always helps to have guys in your clubhouse that have the experience and the leadership to inspire a playoff run like the one we just saw here out of the Nats.

We can look to this team for proof of veteran leadership prospering. We can look to the 2016 Chicago Cubs with guys like David Ross and Jason Heyward willing that young team to the promised land. And hopefully, that’s something we won’t ever lose in this game to the age of innovation in analytics which isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

With that veteran presence the Nats had this season, we also have to sit back and marvel at the years some of these complimentary players had, most notably my dudes Howie Kendrick and Kurt Suzuki. Kendrick hit .344 on the season with 17 homers and 62 RBIs while Suzuki outplayed Yan Gomes, who they brought in to be the number one catcher, and hit for .264 and blasted 17 home runs of his own. Kendrick is now a hot target in free agency as we head into the offseason and Suzuki has revitalized his career for a bit, and in the process, has inspired the Nats to decline the club option on Yan Gomes.

The culture changed this year for the Nationals. For the previous seven years (dating back to 2012), this team had been a top two seed in the National League four times and had yet to advance past the NLDS. This year was a bit different as they scratched their way into the Wild Card Game and pulled off a miraculous comeback against the Milwaukee Brewers late in the game to advance to the NLDS.

Then they were able to knock off the number one Los Angeles Dodgers, who I believed would win it all at the time, en route to a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS- all leading up to a seven game classic with the Houston Astros, where they rallied back from being down 3-2 going back to Houston.

This is a team that we will most certainly not forget when it’s all said and done. They may not have been the best team on paper, but they scratched and clawed their way back from 19-31 to win the whole damn thing with great starting pitching from Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, and Anibal Sanchez, and a feisty lineup riddled with wily veterans, one of the best young hitters in the game in Juan Soto, and the should-have-been league MVP in Anthony Rendon (in my humblest of opinions).

Is this a dynasty? I don’t believe so. But this is most definitely one of the best stories of a team and results of a World Series in the history of the game and will always be remembered as such.