The Washington Senators were Washington D.C.’s first professional baseball team. They were first called the Washington Statesmen, and the more modern and current inception of the team is the Washington Nationals.
The Senators was originated in 1891 in the American Association, where it was known as the Washington Statesmen in 1891. The American Association was disbanded following the 1891 season, and the team was then bought by Philadelphia businessman J. Earl Wagner, who remained the team’s owner through 1899.
The Statesmen Read the rest of this entry »
What’s New at Nationals Park
Near the capitol, nestled in Washington is the home for baseball: Nationals Park. National’s park offers a wide verity of options, as well as activities for fans. The new park features highly crafted architecture, as well as a mixture of specially hosted activities. Newly offered at Nationals Park are personal, and public tours. These tours allow fans to experience the entire park for themselves, as well as get a feel for the stunning layout of Read the rest of this entry »
The Washington Nationals have only been in existence since 2005, after changing their name from the Montreal Expos. The best palyers so far, in the Nationals short existence, have been Ryan Zimmerman, Ivan Rodriguiez, and Jason Werth. Nick Johnson was aquired from the New York Yankees, but never produced as he was projected to by baseball analysts. Before 2005 the Nationals were originated from the Montreal Expos, which were started in 1969 as a new Major League Baseball franchise. Two players that started their careers with the Expos and ended up with different teams were Andre Dawson and Gary Carter. Both of these Read the rest of this entry »
It would be easy to say the Nationals might be in much better shape at this point in the season if certain major pieces of their organization had performed as expected. If Stephen Strasburg hadn’t gotten injured last season and missed all of this year. If Jim Riggleman hadn’t abruptly quit as manager earlier in the year. If Ryan Zimmerman hadn’t missed two full months after abdominal surgery. If Jason Werth weren’t hitting .224 with just 45 RBIs. These things weren’t expected and can be offered as reasons why the team Read the rest of this entry »
You may be planning on watching all the Nationals- games on your DIRECT TV this season but we suggest making it to at least one game, if you can. There-s nothing like taking in 9 innings at a ball park and here are a few of the reasons why
Hotdogs ” Is there anything better than stadium food? Sure it costs an arm and a leg but a baseball game Read the rest of this entry »
Before you take the title too condescendingly, let it be known how refreshing it is to actually see the Artists Formerly Known As the Expos finally taking consistent steps to shell out enough cash to not only keep their own talent, but bring in valuable free agents from across the league. From Adam Dunn, to actually signing Strasburg (something many pundits were quite skeptical about once upon a time), now giving Jayson Werth a massive 7-year, 126 million deal.And it’s not to say Werth isn’t a fine player, even if a relatively late bloomer in his major league career. At 31, Werth has hit at least 24 homers in 3 straight season, including a career high 36 in 2009, while swiping 20 bags in two of those campaigns. A former first round pick by the Baltimore Orioles, Werth struggled earlier in his major league efforts as a result of injuries, attempting to play through the pain and ultimately missing time, the entire 2006 season in fact. He quickly rose to prominence, however, after signing a 1-year contract with the Phillies, moving into a starting role within the first few months of the season, winning a World Series title by year’s end. In 2009, Werth followed up his breakout campaign with a truly career year earning his first All-Star nod. Though 2010 was not as prolific, the fact that a free agent of Werth’s caliber is willing to come to the Nationals is certainly a sign the club is moving in the right direction. Read the rest of this entry »
Tommy John Surgery is thrown around a lot in baseball circles. So common is the phrase one might think it’s as natural as natural as say LASIK eye surgery in the off season (which can also have complications mind you). Though while LASIK eye surgery should certainly improve a player’s play, at least in theory (cough Nate McLouth cough), Tommy John Surgery is a recovery effort to salvage promising arms from a career threatening injury. Of course, there are several cases in which pitchers return from the procedure throwing at higher velocities than they enjoyed prior to going under the knife. In fact, some parents of younger pitchers have tried to have the surgery performed on their children in an effort to boost performance, even when the kid hasn’t suffered from any form of injury. Is it possible then that Stephen Strasburg, who is likely to find himself at the business end of a scalpel in the coming months, could enjoy a bump in his already physics redefining velocity? Read the rest of this entry »
When the Montreal Expos relocated the nation’s capital in 2005, after narrowly surviving a contraction bid along with the Minnesota Twins, a host of names were considered for the city’s newest franchise. Among the first to be tossed around was the “Washington Senators,” the most prominent nickname of the American League team that called D.C. home from the turn of the century all the way up until 1960. The name “Senators,” however, proved both controversial and unattainable. Some local politicians in the Washington area objected to the name because the District of Columbia does not have a vote in the Senate, believing such a name would be technically incorrect and ultimately misleading. Official ownership rights to the name “Senators” was perhaps the biggest hurdle, as the Texas Rangers, known as the Senators prior to their western relocation, still retained the rights to the name. While Major League Baseball inquired as to the rights of purchasing the name, negotiations were unsuccessful. Instead, fans and decision makers dug deeper into baseball history, where they soon found the Washington Nationals, a less storied National League team that took the field from 1886 to 1889. Read the rest of this entry »
Almost a decade prior to Stephen Strasburg‘s heavenly descent straight from the clouds to the mound at Nationals Park, with brief stops in Harrisburg and Syracuse along the way, similar hopes rested on the right arm of a young man newly minted as the Chicago Cubs ace. The comparison to Mark Prior has abounded throughout sports media since it was announced Strasburg would miss the rest of the season. Of course, while their meteoric ascents to the MLB center stage is no doubt similar, perhaps the comparison to Prior isn’t entirely fair, after all, many of Prior’s injuries weren’t arm related troubles, or at least not induced directly from throwing a baseball. Prior’s original shoulder injury was the result of a base-running collision with Atlanta Braves second baseman; his first season ending injury was a strained hamstring, also the result of rounding the bases. Prior’s first elbow problem occurred while he was on the mound; though not originally caused by his pitching mechanics, rather a 117 mph comebacker off the bat of Brad Hawpe. Unless you’re pitching from the outfield, not even the tidy mechanics of Greg Maddux could’ve avoided such an unfortunate circumstance. It was not until 2006 that Prior first hit the DL with a strained shoulder, augmented by a strained oblique during batting practice, after which Prior would never return to form. Read the rest of this entry »
For the past two years, the Big Donkey has been grazing all across the Nationals Park grass, whether in the outfield corner or down the 1st base line. Nearly two full seasons after signing a 20 million deal with the Nats, Dunn’s contract is set to expire at the end of 2010, which begs the question, should the Nationals re-up with an extension or is it time to let the Donkey roam free?Over the course of his Major League Baseball career, Dunn has been impressively productive at the plate. Since his breakout season in 2004, in which he ballooned his long ball total from a previous high of 27 all the way up to 46, Dunn has never managed fewer than 38 dingers over the past 7 seasons. He has been a model of consistency with the bat, swatting exactly 40 home runs in 4 straight seasons from 2005 to 2008, dropping off the torrent pace by just 2 in his first year with the Nationals. Sure, he has been rated as the worst fielder in baseball, but when signing Adam Dunn, it’s not as if a team doesn’t know what they’re getting into. Read the rest of this entry »