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https://www.wsj.com/articles/washington-nationals-win-the-world-series-11572493834
MLB Washington Nationals Win the World Series The Nationals began the season with a record of 19-31. They ended up bringing a championship to the nation’s capital for the first time in 95 years.
The Washington Nationals captured their irst World Series in franchise history, beating the Houston Astros, 6 2, in Game 7. PHOTO: DAVID J. PHILLIP ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Jared Diamond Updated Oct. 31, 2019 12 24 am ET
HOUSTON—Max Scherzer woke up Sunday morning in such severe pain that his wife needed to help him dress. His neck hurt so badly that he couldn’t lift his right arm, forcing him to miss his scheduled outing.
For Scherzer to sit in such a critical moment, it meant that he experienced a level of discomfort incomprehensible to most people. He pitched earlier this season the day after he broke his nose and dominated with a nasty shiner around his right eye. That epitomizes Scherzer.
But just three days later, after a shot of cortisone and some serious chiropractic work, Scherzer found a way back to start the most important game of the Washington Nationals’ entire existence. His stuff betrayed him. He struggled with his command. He battled through fatigue. Scherzer, a future Hall-of-Famer, looked like a shell of himself on the sport’s biggest stage. And then the Nationals won the World Series.
In a gutsy performance that will define his career, Scherzer somehow survived five laborious innings in Wednesday’s decisive Game 7, pulling the Nationals to one of the most unlikely titles in recent memory. Down two runs in the seventh inning, Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick homered in the span of three batters, propelling the Nationals to a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Washington Nationals' Howie Kendrick hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning of Game 7. PHOTO: DAVID J. PHILLIP ASSOCIATED PRESS
It resulted in a 6-2 victory over the powerhouse Houston Astros, a stunning turnaround that only the 2019 Nationals could dream of producing. The Nationals began the season with a record of 19-31. They ended up bringing a championship to the nation’s capital for the first time in 95 years, with all four of their World Series wins coming on the road—an unprecedented achievement.
Scherzer willed it into existence, giving the Nationals everything when he had nothing to give. The Astros pounded him throughout the night, smashing a barrage of line drives that rang out across Minute Maid Park. A runner reached base in every frame against Scherzer. Four times, the Astros put two men on or more. They only scored twice, despite Scherzer surrendering seven hits and walking four. Scherzer wouldn’t stop escaping impossible jams.
With two runners on in the second, George Springer rocketed a line drive that exploded off his bat at 105.2 mph. It landed in left fielder Juan Soto’s glove. With two runners on in the third, rookie Yordan Álvarez blasted a fly ball that traveled 389 feet. It died on the warning track. With two runners in the fourth, José Altuve shot a line drive to center. It went directly at center fielder Víctor Robles. Max Scherzer exited after throwing 103 pitches, only 58 of which were for strikes. PHOTO: MIKE EHRMANN ASSOCIATED PRESS
For much of the game, as Scherzer gave up hard-hit ball after hard-hit ball, it seemed downright insane that Nationals manager Dave Martinez chose to stick with him. The man pitching wore Scherzer’s uniform, but he bore no resemblance to the real Max Scherzer. Yet, defying all conventional wisdom about how to approach a contest of this magnitude, Martinez trusted his ace. Scherzer rewarded Martinez’s faith.
When Scherzer exited after throwing 103 pitches, only 58 of which for strikes, the Astros held a 2-0 lead. It felt more like 10-0. Scherzer’s refusal to give in—with the help of a hefty dose of good fortune—kept the Nationals alive, a perfect metaphor for a team that all year simply wouldn’t die.
The Nationals finally took advantage in the seventh, after Astros pitcher Zack Greinke silenced them over six masterful frames. First, Rendon launched a homer to erase Greinke’s bid at a shutout. After Greinke walked Soto, Astros manager A.J. Hinch chose to remove him, replacing him with his best reliever, Will Harris. Greinke allowed just two hits.
Harris, so impressive all season, faltered. On his second pitch, he threw a cutter diving down and away. Kendrick reached across the plate and slapped it into the right-field corner. It banged off the foul pole for his second series-winning home run of these playoffs. He also hit the extra- inning grand slam that sent the Nationals past the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division series. Juan Soto holds the Commissioner’s Trophy. PHOTO: ELSA GETTY IMAGES
None of it made any semblance of sense, but neither did these Nationals, who entered this Fall Classic against the Astros as the biggest underdogs in a dozen years. Their bizarre and magical journey began with Bryce Harper, their superstar, spurning them in free agency. In a fitting twist, Patrick Corbin, the starting pitcher they signed for roughly half the money they offered Harper, threw three shutout innings in relief of Scherzer on Wednesday.
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In spite of the odds against them, the Nationals never thought of themselves as a group of scrappy dark horses—and for good reason. They proved themselves as a force, boasting baseball’s oldest roster and a deliciously old-school approach. They leaned on the traditional notion of a pitching rotation more than any of their competitors, enabling them to overcome the worst bullpen ERA of any playoff team in history. Their two biggest heroes Wednesday, Scherzer and Kendrick, are 35 and 36, respectively.
Only two other teams that ever started a season 19-31 or worse—the 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates and 2005 Astros—rebounded to make the playoffs. Neither of them won the World Series. The Nationals did.
Through it all, Martinez constantly faced the same question, asking him to explain the cause of his team’s miraculous metamorphosis from 19-31 to world champs. But as the Nationals now prepare to parade through the streets of the nation’s capital, it’s clear that missed the point.
The question isn’t how a team that started 19-31 suddenly became great, but how a team as great as the Nationals ever started 19-31 in the first place.
Only two other teams that ever started a season 19 31 or worse—the 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates and 2005 Astros—rebounded to make the playo s. PHOTO: MATT SLOCUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
Write to Jared Diamond at [email protected]
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