They were dead. Honestly, if you follow baseball, you remember that May. The Washington Nationals were 19-31. To put that in perspective, teams with that record usually spend July selling off their stars for prospects and planning for next year’s vacation. But the Washington Nationals 2019 roster didn't follow the script. This wasn't a team of young, hungry upstarts—well, mostly—it was a collection of aging veterans, a generational phenom, and a pitching rotation that felt like a throwback to a different era.
Think about the sheer absurdity of that clubhouse. You had Brian Dozier doing shirtless dances in the locker room. You had Gerardo Parra turning a children's song about a shark into a cultural phenomenon that took over the entire city of D.C. More importantly, you had "The Big Three" at the top of the rotation. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin represented a massive financial gamble by the Lerner family, and for the first two months of the season, it looked like a total disaster. Then, things just clicked.
The Pitching Staff That Carried a City
When you look back at the Washington Nationals 2019 roster, the conversation starts and ends with the starting pitching. It was top-heavy. Ridiculously top-heavy. Max Scherzer was, well, Max Scherzer—snorting, pacing, and looking like he wanted to fight every hitter he faced. He finished that year with a 2.92 ERA and 243 strikeouts. But the real story of the postseason was Stephen Strasburg.
Strasburg had been the "chosen one" since he was drafted in 2009. People forget the drama of the "Strasburg Shutdown" years prior. In 2019, he finally had the moment everyone predicted. He went 18-6 in the regular season, but his October was legendary. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to go 5-0 in a single postseason. Watching him use that changeup to make world-class hitters look like they were swinging underwater was a masterclass in pitching.
Then there was Patrick Corbin. The Nats signed him to a six-year, $140 million deal that winter. Some people thought it was too much. But without Corbin’s relief appearance in Game 7 of the World Series, the Nats don't win. Period. He gave them three scoreless innings of relief when the bullpen was thin. Speaking of the bullpen, it was a mess for most of the year. Sean Doolittle carried the load early, but the team eventually had to trade for Daniel Hudson and Roenis Elías. Hudson ended up throwing the final pitch of the season, a strikeout of Michael Brantley that cemented the franchise's first title.
Anibal Sanchez was the unsung hero. He was the "crafty veteran" archetype. He didn't throw hard, but he threw everything. His butterfly changeup and pinpoint command in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Cardinals—where he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning—basically set the tone for the rest of the playoffs.
Juan Soto and the Youth Infusion
It is easy to forget how young Juan Soto was. He was 20. Twenty! Most guys that age are struggling in Double-A or trying to figure out how to do their own laundry in college. Instead, Soto was out there "shuffling" against Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. The "Soto Shuffle" became his trademark—that aggressive, hip-twitching dance he’d do after taking a ball. It drove pitchers crazy.
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Soto hit 34 home runs that year. He walked 108 times. His plate discipline was already veteran-level. In the Wild Card game against the Brewers, he hit the bases-clearing single that changed everything. If Josh Hader gets him out there, the Washington Nationals 2019 roster is just a footnote in history. Instead, the ball skipped under Trent Grisham’s glove, the Nats won, and the momentum became an avalanche.
But it wasn't just Soto. Victor Robles was the center fielder, providing elite defense even if his bat was streaky. Trea Turner was the engine. When Turner was healthy and on base, the Nats were a different team. His speed put pressure on everyone. He hit .298 with 35 stolen bases, despite missing time with a broken finger.
The "Old Man" Strength of the Infield
If the outfield was young, the infield was a retirement home—in the best way possible. Ryan Zimmerman, "Mr. National," was finally healthy enough to contribute. Seeing him hit the first World Series home run in franchise history was poetic. He’d been through the 100-loss seasons. He deserved it.
How about Howie Kendrick? The guy was 35 years old and coming off a devastating Achilles injury. All he did was hit .344 in the regular season. Then he hit the grand slam in the NLDS to slay the Dodgers. Then he hit the foul-pole-clanking home run in Game 7 of the World Series. Kendrick wasn't supposed to be a superstar at that stage of his career, but for one month, he was the most dangerous hitter on the planet.
Anthony Rendon was the steady hand at third base. He was the quietest MVP candidate you’ll ever see. He drove in 126 runs. He never looked rattled. Whether it was a spring training game or the seventh inning of a World Series elimination game, Rendon’s expression never changed. He just caught everything at third and drove balls into the gaps.
The Baby Shark Phenomenon
Baseball is a long, grueling season. 162 games. It’s easy to get bogged down in the grind. Gerardo Parra changed the vibe of the entire 2019 season when he chose "Baby Shark" as his walk-up song. It sounds stupid. It was stupid. But the fans loved it. The players loved it. It turned Nationals Park into a giant party every time he stepped to the plate.
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Parra wasn’t a starter. He was a bench piece. But his presence in the dugout—the hug sessions after home runs, the yellow sunglasses—kept the team loose when the pressure was highest. That’s the "intangible" stuff that stats don't catch. You can't quantify how a children’s song helps a team overcome a five-run deficit, but it happened.
A Legacy of "Stay in the Fight"
Manager Davey Martinez almost got fired in May. Seriously, the rumors were everywhere. But he kept repeating the same mantra: "Stay in the fight." He even had a heart scare during the season and had to leave the dugout. The team reflected his resilience.
They faced elimination five times in that postseason. They trailed in all of those games.
- Wild Card: Trailed 3-1 in the 8th. Won.
- NLDS Game 5: Trailed 3-0 in the 8th. Won.
- World Series Game 6: Had to win on the road. Won.
- World Series Game 7: Trailed 2-0 in the 7th. Won.
This team didn't just win; they snatched victory out of the trash. They were the first team to win four road games in a World Series. Think about that. They couldn't win at home in the Fall Classic, but they went into Houston—against a team that was arguably one of the most talented (and controversial) of the decade—and took every single game in their building.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 2019 Nats
A lot of casual fans think the Nats got lucky. They look at the "Baby Shark" stuff and think it was a fluke. It wasn't. The Washington Nationals 2019 roster was built on elite, high-leverage starting pitching. In an era where "openers" and "bullpen games" were becoming the norm, the Nats went old school. They let their starters go deep. They trusted their horses.
Also, people forget how good Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes were as a catching duo. They managed that elite staff perfectly. Suzuki hit some massive home runs, including a go-ahead blast in Game 2 of the World Series. Gomes was a wall behind the plate.
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The roster was a perfect blend of high-end talent and specific role players. Matt Adams provided power off the bench. Asdrubal Cabrera was a mid-season pickup who hit over .300 for them down the stretch. It was a front-office masterclass by Mike Rizzo, who refused to tear the team down when things looked bleak in May.
Practical Lessons from the 2019 Nationals
While we can't all be Max Scherzer, there are actual takeaways from how this roster was managed that apply to sports management and even general leadership.
Trust Your Core Metrics
Rizzo didn't fire Martinez or trade Scherzer in May because the underlying data showed the team was underperforming their talent level. They had a positive run differential even when they were losing. If you have the right pieces, sometimes you just have to wait for the luck to even out.
Culture Over Everything
The addition of Gerardo Parra proved that a single "glue guy" can change the chemistry of a workplace. It wasn't about his batting average; it was about his energy.
Experience Matters in High Pressure
While Juan Soto was the star, the veteran presence of Kendrick, Zimmerman, and Sanchez meant the team never panicked. They had "been there before," even if they hadn't won it all yet.
Next Steps for Fans and Researchers
If you want to dive deeper into the mechanics of this specific season, I recommend looking into the following:
- Study the Statcast data on Stephen Strasburg’s 2019 changeup; it was statistically one of the most unhittable pitches of the decade.
- Watch the "Year in Review" documentary produced by MLB, which highlights the locker room footage during the "Baby Shark" era.
- Analyze the 2019 bullpen ERA splits before and after the Daniel Hudson trade to see how one high-leverage arm can stabilize an entire unit.
- Review the 2019 MLB Draft to see how the Nationals began transitioning their roster immediately after the win, which explains the current state of the franchise.
The 2019 Washington Nationals didn't just win a trophy; they proved that a veteran-heavy, pitching-first team could still dominate in a hitters' era. They were gritty, they were "old," and they were exactly what D.C. needed.