Now, the Washington Nationals are the seventh Wildcard team to win the World Series. Indeed, on Wednesday night, the 31st and final day of October of 2019; they knocked off the mighty Houston Astros for the fourth time at Minute Maid Park.
Furthermore, the Nationals had to come from behind to win the title.
For the first time in 95 years, the #WorldSeries champions are from Washington, DC.#STAYINTHEFIGHT pic.twitter.com/wxYc9XbQYo
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 31, 2019
Sometimes, videos can tell a story. For the Nationals – who certainly seem like a team of destiny in the end – a video tells this story well.
🗣 THIS IS HOW MUCH IT MEANS@Max_Scherzer and @AnibalSanchez19 embrace after winning the #WorldSeries. pic.twitter.com/H67ZkAIMVO
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 31, 2019
While this team started 19-31 in the regular season and considered firing their manager Davey Martinez; they never quit. Five times in the postseason, they came from behind to win a game. This included their Wildcard win over the Milwaukee Brewers and this game seven that won the title.
Still, no one in this series won a home game. This series will go down in history in so many ways. For the first seven innings of this game, the Nationals were looking at a bleak outcome. For example, look at the tweet below. Until Howie Kendrick hit a pitcher’s pitch off the right-field foul pole off reliever Will Harris, the Astros’ victory was certain.
Howie Kendrick's home run was worth 34.7 percentage points of World Series win probability. The Nationals' odds increased from 29.5% to 64.2%.
Not only was it the most important hit of the postseason thus far, but it's more than three times as important as the next closest hit.
— Devan Fink (@DevanFink) October 31, 2019
Then, at a 3-2 score; the Nationals went back to work and buried the Astros. Juan Soto and Adam Eaton had the hits that finished off what started so long ago.
Stephen Strasburg won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award in going 5-0 in the postseason. Equally important in this series was Anthony Rendon. When the Nationals looked like they couldn’t get off the mat, he homered for the second night in a row to break up the shutout off Greinke.
"We stuck together. When we had nothing else to lose, when people had written us off… we just kept on fighting and happened to come out on top." – Anthony Rendon pic.twitter.com/dfPmc6AV2M
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 31, 2019
Finally, this series was great for the game of baseball. Whether your team was in it or not – or you were just a casual fan who tuned in – both of these teams provided the drama you want in a Fall Classic.
In the end, the Nationals proved to be true champions; overcoming what looked like an epic collapse several times. Certainly, they were a team of resiliency that never quit, and all those other fine cliché’s certainly apply with this bunch.
