2016 Washington Nationals: Reason for Optimism

2016 Washington Nationals: Reason for Optimism

2016 Washington Nationals: Reason for Optimism

For the 3rd time in a span of 5 years the Washington Nationals would make the playoffs once again, and in the case of the 2016 regular season the Nationals continued to prove to the rest of Major League Baseball that they were a consistent team that was well rounded enough to give opponents reason for concern. For Nationals fans who followed their team closely, they were given reason for optimism as some parts of the team came together very well.

In 2016 the Washington Nationals went 95-67, winning the National League East division by 8 games over the New York Mets. The Nationals went 12-7 against the Mets in head-to-head play. The Nationals went 50-31 at home and 45-36 on the road. The Nationals fared well on a monthly basis as they went 16-7 in April, 16-14 in May, 16-11 in June, 13-12 in July, 17-11 in August and 15-12 in September. In blowout games where the end result was 5 or more runs the Nationals went 30-10.

Second baseman Daniel Murphy signed a 3-year, $37.5 Million contract with the Nationals on December 24, 2015, and Murphy rewarded the Nationals with a great regular season as he batted .347 with 25 home runs and 104 RBI’s off 184 hits, 47 doubles and 5 triples. Catcher Wilson Ramos batted .307 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI’s off 148 hits and 25 doubles. Third baseman Anthony Rendon batted .270 with 20 home runs and 85 RBI’s off 153 hits, 38 doubles and 12 stolen bases. Right fielder Bryce Harper had 24 home runs and 86 RBI’s off 123 hits, 24 doubles and 21 stolen bases.

Shortstop Danny Espinosa had 24 home runs and 72 RBI’s off 108 hits, 15 doubles and 9 stolen bases. Left fielder Jayson Werth had 21 home runs and 69 RBI’s off 128 hits and 28 doubles. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman had 15 home runs, 93 hits and 18 doubles in 115 games. Center fielder Ben Revere had 76 hits, 9 doubles, 7 triples and 14 stolen bases in 103 games. Utility player Trea Turner had 13 home runs, 105 hits, 14 doubles, 8 triples and 33 stolen bases in 73 games. Center fielder Michael Taylor had 51 hits, 11 doubles and 14 stolen bases in 76 games.

Starting pitcher Max Scherzer went 20-7 with 284 strikeouts and a 2.96 ERA, recording 1 complete game. Scherzer was impressive enough throughout the regular season to win the National League Cy Young Award. Tanner Roark went 16-10 with 172 strikeouts and a 2.83 ERA. Stephen Strasburg went 15-4 with 183 strikeouts and a 3.60 ERA. Joe Ross went 7-5 with 93 strikeouts and a 3.43 ERA. Reynaldo Lopez went 5-3 in 6 games started.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon had 19 saves. Relief pitcher Blake Treinen went 4-1 with 1 save and a 2.28 ERA. Shawn Kelley went 3-2 with 7 saves, 80 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA. Felipe Rivero had 1 save. Yusmeiro Petit had 1 save.

Plenty of awards and honors would come the way of the Nationals as Bryce Harper would be chosen by the fans to be a starting outfielder for the National League in the 2016 MLB All-Star Game. Daniel Murphy, Wilson Ramos and Stephen Strasburg all made the NL All-Star Team as reserves, but Strasburg would pull out of the roster. Instead Max Scherzer took Strasburg’s spot on the roster. Daniel Murphy won the Players’ Choice Award while also winning a Silver Slugger. Wilson Ramos also won a Silver Slugger. Anthony Rendon would be named the MLB Comeback Player of the Year.

Unfortunately for the Nationals they continued the trend of having early exits from the postseason as they would fall to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series 3 games to 2. Down 1-0 in the series, the Nationals would win Game 2 on October 9 at Nationals Park by the score of 5-2. In the top of the 1st inning shortstop Corey Seager hit a solo home run, and then in the top of the 3rd right fielder Josh Reddick would have an RBI single. The Nationals would respond in one of the most unlikely ways as catcher Jose Laboton would crush a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 4th. In the bottom of the 5th Daniel Murphy had an RBI single, and he then had another RBI single in the bottom of the 7th.

The Nationals then took a 2 games to 1 series lead by winning Game 3 on October 10 at Dodger Stadium by the score of 8-3. In the bottom of the 1st inning Seager had an RBI double, but it wouldn’t take long for Washington to respond. In the top of the 3rd Jayson Werth had an RBI double, Bryce Harper had an RBI single, and Anthony Rendon would top things off by hammering a 2-run home run. In the bottom of the 5th catcher Carlos Ruiz tried to spark a Los Angeles rally by belting a 2-run home run, but no rally came from this. In the top of the 9th Werth hit a solo home run, Ryan Zimmerman had a 2-run double, and then pinch hitting outfielder Chris Heisey had a sacrifice fly to score Zimmerman.

In the 13 years that the franchise has been in Washington, D.C., the Nationals have already experienced a better quantity of success than the franchise ever had when it was in Montreal, Quebec as the Expos. Though the Expos made it to the NLCS in 1981, the Nationals have made it to the NLDS in 2012, 2014 and 2016. With a blend of unique talent and personalities coming of age the Nationals have appeared to be an exciting team to watch going forward.