Washington Nationals: Team preview and prediction for 2020 season
By Sean Basile
The defending champs are back for a shot at a repeat. But the Washington Nationals face a daunting test to avoid the dreaded World Series hangover
The Washington Nationals pulled off one of the most improbable runs in MLB postseason history last season to win it all by upsetting all the favorites and catching fire at the perfect time sporting the oldest roster in baseball. Now, they look to become the first team since the 1998-1999-2000 New York Yankees to repeat as world champions.
Will they crumble under a World Series hangover, or will we see magic strike again?
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
One of the hardest things to do in professional sports, other than winning a title in the first place, is to repeat as world champions. And I would go even further as to say in this current era of the game, it’ll be ten times more difficult to complete such a task with the evolution of the game and the influx of talent and youth making the league as competitive as ever.
Every year, there seems to be a different formula when it comes to winning a title. We’ve seen everything from contact hitting, to developed farm systems, to bullpen dominance, to high payrolls, to a Madison Bumgarner mauling, and to even last season with the oldest team in baseball catching fire, Katniss Everdeen style, to secure a World Series title.
Baseball is like that where what works for you one year will fail you the next. In the case of a team like the Nats, the odds are the formula featuring an older roster getting it done two years in-a-row is highly unlikely, as it was improbable even last season that their strategy would pay off.
On paper, the Nats still have a very good roster heading into 2020, but their “leaning on the vets” strategy can’t work again… can it?… TWO-straight years?