The Washington Nationals: Bringing a Title Back to D.C.
Image courtesy of CBS Sports
By Sarah Beretich
The Washington Nationals baseball team has progressed into the World Series for the first time in franchise history, playing the Houston Astros in a best-of-seven series. The Catholic University community joins the rest of Washington with the excitement of the potential championship.
The Classic began Tuesday with a final score of 5-4 to the Nats, making this the Astros first Cole start loss since July and the first at home since May. Other than upsetting bookies nationwide, the win also marked Juan Soto of the Nationals becoming the 4th player in World Series history to hit a homer under the age of 21. Team ace and Cy Young Award favorite Max Scherzer started the game and earned his third win this postseason.
In an unlikely turn of events that pleasantly marked the team’s 50th anniversary year. Starting as the Expos in Montreal in 1969, the team became the 8th DC team after their move in ‘05. the Nats dragged themselves from their 19-31 record in May and their history of playoff losses to make it to the Fall Classic. The Nationals are the third team in the last century with a record of 12 games under .500 to make it to the World Series.
Students and faculty across campus are hoping for a win, which would put an end to the 50-year championship drought of the Nationals franchise, matched only by the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers.
An important marker of the year was Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper and his departure from the team. Harper left in the 2019 offseason to join the Phillies, a divisional rival, after a 9-year career in DC since his draft in 2010. The move follows an offer of a record-breaking $325 million contract over 13 years.
Since the 1933 World Series, when the Washington Senators (before leaving in ‘61 to become the Minnesota Twins), lost the World Series to the New York Giants. Since then, D.C. has not seen a team compete in the Fall Classic. This, combined with last season’s record (82-80), has generated excitement and anticipation around the D.C. and Catholic U communities.
Though the Astros are favored to win, some, like sophomore and D.C. native Elizabeth Noe, are eager for the team to prove their progress in the next few games.
“I am extremely excited, this is the first time we’re here and I’m going to get to see it in my lifetime,” says Noe. “And we didn’t need Bryce Harper to do it… obviously we had some dead weight to get rid of.”
“All the Phillies fans were teasing us for them taking Bryce Harper. I just want to say… look who’s here, look who is not and I’m going to leave it at that,” Says Noe.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, the official Catholic chaplain for the Nationals and a CUA research professor for Pastoral Studies, has been traveling with the team this season. Now in Houston for the first two games, Msgr. Rossetti still feels the DC and CUA energy from afar.
“There have been psychological studies to show when you have a winning professional sports team, it affects the mood of the whole city,” says Rossetti. “So this is like a morale boost for all of Washington and for CUA.”
The Astros have a strong history, claiming three American League West Division titles in the last 3 years, as well as a World Series win in 2017, but hese strengths have only encouraged the DC community.
“They are excited themselves,” says Rossetti on the players, for whom he has been a spiritual guide. “We’re kind of a ‘Cinderella’ team, even now in the World Series we are the underdogs. No one was expecting us to do so well so it’s a big come from behind story.”
The following game, Wednesday, October 23rd in Houston, is next in the best-of-seven series until the final possible game on Wednesday, October 30th, only occurring on a need-be basis. The Nationals return home on Friday, October 25th, to play at 8PM for the third game. And, in the words of Bryce Harper in his premiere press conference for the Phillies, “we want to bring a title back to D.C.”
