After Robert Griffin III’s knee buckled under the weight of the city’s expectations, Georgetown students eager to get into D.C. sports were left with only the underachievers who play in the Verizon Center. Baseball fever, however, has made its way through the city. Two years ago, the Nationals were a sub-500 team, and three years ago, they barely fended off a 100-loss season. Then, it was 2012, and things snapped into place.
The Nats were winning, and with the wins came an unprecedented wave of excitement in the nation’s capital. Ace Stephen Strasburg was back, Gio Gonzalez joined the pitching squad, the Jayson Werth signing panned out, and Bryce Harper had come up to the majors a few years early and lived up to all the hype.
ESPN had never given Washington sports more than a 30-second spot on Sports Center, but suddenly they were caught in the middle of a love affair with Harper. Baseball Tonight was drooling over the rotation that, at one point in time, had the league leader in strikeouts, ERA, and wins. Suddenly, Ryan Zimmerman was back in form and the lineup that had struggled year after year had turned into a group that could hit from top to bottom.
The Nationals finished the regular season with 98 wins, the best record in the MLB. Though the season ended with disappointment, a blown save in game five of the NLDS against St. (https://cannabisbudcans.com/) Louis, the 2012 level of success was unprecedented in the recent history of the nation’s capital.
Preparation for the 2013 season began with the retention of Gold Glove first baseman Adam LaRoche as well as the signings of outfielder Denard Span, starting pitcher Dan Haren, and closer Rafael Soriano. After being held to an inning count that ended his play before the postseason, Strasburg is now uncapped and ready to bring his white-hot fastball into October.
Opening day at Nats Park was Monday, and the show put on did not disappoint. After a presentation of the Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers as well as the Manager and Rookie of the Year trophies, the Nationals went out in front of the sellout crowd and defeated the Miami Marlins 2-0. The matchup featured seven shutout innings from Strasburg. However, the story of the game was Harper, who is feeling the pressure of great expectations. Harper hit a solo home run on the second pitch he saw, and then followed it up with another solo bomb on his second at-bat.
While the season is still young, the Nationals are poised to make a run at Washington’s first professional sports title since 1991. So, that’s not the cherry blossoms that smell so sweet this April—Natitude is in the air in D.C.
