Here is the story of the 2005 Washington Nationals. Told from a fan's perspective, the narrative begins inside RFK on opening day, expressing the simple pleasures of baseball that 34 years couldn't erase. As the team took one series after another, baseball fans quickly forgot that many on the roster had ever played to empty seats in Montreal. Descriptive prose covers each game, from the crack of Brad Wilkerson's bat to Livan Hernandez's eight-inning outings.
“First in War, First in Peace . . . and Last in the American League.” Expressions such as this characterized the legend and lore of baseball in the nation's capital, from the pioneering Washington Nationals of 1859 to the Washington Senators, whose ignominious departure in 1971 left Washingtonians bereft of the national pastime for thirty-three years. This reflective book gives the complete history of the game in the D.C. area, including the 1924 World Series championship team and the Homestead Grays, the perennial Negro League pennant winners from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s who consistently outplayed the Senators. New chapters describe the present-day Nationals, who, in 2012, won the National League East led by the arms of Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg and the bats of Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and rookie Bryce Harper. The book is filled with the voices of current and former players, along with presidents, senators, and political commentators who call the team their own.
Inside MLB profiles each of the 30 franchises in Major League Baseball. Washington Nationals is a beginner's history of the Nationals, covering the beginnings of the franchise, the greatest and lowest moments of the team, and the best players and managers. Fun facts, anecdotes, and sidebars round out the story of each club, allowing your readers to get Inside MLB! Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
This title introduces baseball fans to the history of the Washington Nationals MLB franchise. The title features informative sidebars, exciting photos, a timeline, team facts, trivia, a glossary, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Dubbed "America's Game" by Walt Whitman, baseball has been enjoyed in our nation's capital by everyone from young boys playing street stickball to Presidents throwing out the inaugural first pitch of the season. Just 13 years after Alexander Cartwright codified baseball's rules, the Washington Nationals Baseball Club formed and in 1867 toured the country spreading the "baseball gospel." By 1901 the team became one of the first eight major league teams in the newly formed American League. Players such as Walter Johnson, probably the greatest pitcher of all time, and other Senators under the stewardship of owner Clark Griffith successfully led the club in 1924 to what many consider to be the most exciting World Series in baseball history. Later, the Homestead Grays played at Griffith Stadium and fielded a team featuring legendary Negro League greats such as Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard. The powerhouse Grays, during a ten-year span, won nine Negro League World Championships, a record that may never be equaled in any team sport again. When the Grays disbanded, the original Senators left for Minnesota in 1960, and the expansion Senators of the 1960s relocated, the city was left without a professional baseball team. While many feared that baseball in D.C. was over, a spirit remained on the diamond and is still felt today as children and adults team up in one way or another to play the national pastime in the nation's capital. Hopes for a new professional team linger, and those remembering baseball's heyday will enjoy this extensive and unusual collection ofhistoric photos that celebrate a time when the crowds roared and Washingtonians believed that the summer game would never end.
More than any other sport, baseball has developed its own niche in America's culture and psyche. Some researchers spend years on detailed statistical analyses of minute parts of the game, while others wax poetic about its players and plays. Many trace the beginnings of the civil rights movement in part to the Major Leagues' decision to integrate, and the words and phrases of the game (for example, pinch-hitter and out in left field) have become common in our everyday language. From AARON, HENRY onward, this book covers all of what might be called the cultural aspects of baseball (as opposed to the number-rich statistical information so widely available elsewhere). Biographical sketches of all Hall of Fame players, owners, executives and umpires, as well as many of the sportswriters and broadcasters who have won the Spink and Frick awards, join entries for teams, owners, commissioners and league presidents. Advertising, agents, drafts, illegal substances, minor leagues, oldest players, perfect games, retired uniform numbers, superstitions, tripleheaders, and youngest players are among the thousands of entries herein. Most entries open with a topical quote and conclude with a brief bibliography of sources for further research. The whole work is exhaustively indexed and includes 119 photographs.
Revised and updated, including the 2019 World Series! 100 Things Nationals Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the ultimate resource guide for true fans of the Washington Nationals. Whether you're a die-hard booster from the days of the Senators or a newer supporter of Max Scherzer and Juan Soto, these are the 100 things all fans need to know and do in their lifetime. It contains every essential piece of Nationals knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as you progress on your way to fan superstardom.
Dating back to 1869 as an organized professional sport, the game of baseball is not only the oldest professional sport in North America, but also symbolizes much more. Walt Whitman described it as “our game, the American game,” and George Will compared calling baseball “just a game” to the Grand Canyon being “just a hole.” Countless others have called baseball “the most elegant game,” and to those who have played it, it’s life. The Historical Dictionary of Baseball is primarily devoted to the major leagues it also includes entries on the minor leagues, the Negro Leagues, women’s baseball, baseball in various other countries, and other non-major league related topics. It traces baseball, in general, and these topics individually, from their beginnings up to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on the roles of the players on the field—batters, pitchers, fielders—as well as non-playing personnel—general managers, managers, coaches, and umpires. There are also entries for individual teams and leagues, stadiums and ballparks, the role of the draft and reserve clause, and baseball’s rules, and statistical categories. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of baseball.
Even the most ardent baseball fan will be amazed at the quirks, quips, and comments in Baseball Gold. Consisting entirely of bits and pieces of baseball’s offbeat history, this volume covers teams and a myriad of players, owners, managers, and broadcasters—from their exploits on the field to those behind clubhouse doors. It can even be picked up in the middle and read backward—one nugget at a time.
