2007 Washington Nationals season
Encyclopedia
The Washington Nationals
' 2007 season
began with the team trying to win its first NL East
title since moving to Washington
. During the offseason, the team replaced manager
Frank Robinson
with former Montreal Expos
coach Manny Acta
. They lost several players through free agency and trades. The most notable of those are José Guillén
, Ramón Ortiz
, Alfonso Soriano
, and José Vidro
. The Nationals signed few major league free agents. Their most experienced free agent signing was Dmitri Young
. Luis Ayala
, Alex Escobar
, Cristian Guzmán
, Nick Johnson
, Michael O'Connor
and John Patterson
are expected to return from season-ending injuries.
After losing four starters (Liván Hernández, Tony Armas, Ramon Ortiz and Pedro Astacio) from the prior year, the Nationals invited an extraordinary 36 pitchers to spring training. By year's end, the team would become the first team in modern baseball (except for strike-shortened seasons) with no pitcher in double figures with wins or losses.
The season was notable for it being the Nationals final year at RFK Stadium and for Dmitri Young
winning Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award, marking the team's first annual award since moving to D.C.
, hamstring) and center fielder (Nook Logan
) for five weeks. At the end of April, one of their starters, Jerome Williams
hurt his ankle while batting and was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
, John Patterson
, and Jason Bergmann
went on the disabled list. Jerome Williams returned, pitched one game, and went back on the DL with a shoulder injury. The Washington Post wrote: "Almost everything that could sink a team's attitude has befallen the Nats. They started the year 1-8, then they lost eight in a row to drop to 9-25."
They pressed journeymen Mike Bacsik
, Micah Bowie
(a relief pitcher) and Jason Simontacchi
, along with rookie reliever Levale Speigner
into the starting rotation, amidst predictions that the 2007 Nationals might equal the 1962 Mets' record of futility, 120 losses in one season..
After the team lost 8 straight games to sink to 9-25, the Nats won 11 of 15, mostly with patchwork starting pitching and timely hitting. and the return of Cristian Guzmán
, who was hitting .343 by the end of May.
. Despite rumors that the Nationals were seeking to trade Ronnie Belliard
, Chad Cordero
, Jon Rauch
and Young, the Nationals did not make any major trades before the non-waiver trade deadline.
The 2007 Nationals also set the National League record for not scoring a run in the first inning of their first 22 games.
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
' 2007 season
2007 Major League Baseball season
The 2007 Major League Baseball season, began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1...
began with the team trying to win its first NL East
National League East
The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...
title since moving to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. During the offseason, the team replaced manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...
with former Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
coach Manny Acta
Manny Acta
Manuel Elias Acta is a Major League Baseball manager for the Cleveland Indians. He is the former manager of the Washington Nationals . In the Dominican Winter League, he managed the Tigres del Licey from 2002–2004, including leading them to victory at the 2003 Caribbean Series...
. They lost several players through free agency and trades. The most notable of those are José Guillén
José Guillén
José Manuel Guillén |San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic]]) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. A prototypical league journeyman, the Giants were the tenth team for which Guillén has played since his major league debut in 1997....
, Ramón Ortiz
Ramón Ortiz
Ramón Diógenes Ortiz is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. He has previously pitched in Major League Baseball for the Anaheim Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs as well as the Orix...
, Alfonso Soriano
Alfonso Soriano
Alfonso Guilleard Soriano is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs....
, and José Vidro
José Vidro
José Angel Vidro is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. Though he never officially retired, Vidro has not played since .-Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals:...
. The Nationals signed few major league free agents. Their most experienced free agent signing was Dmitri Young
Dmitri Young
Dmitri Dell Young is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Young is 6'2" and 275 pounds...
. Luis Ayala
Luis Ayala
Luis Ignacio Ayala is a Major League Baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He is 6' 2" and weighs 190 lbs. and bats and throws right-handed.-Mexican League:...
, Alex Escobar
Alex Escobar
Alexander José Escobar [ess-COE-bar] is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Colorado Rockies organization....
, Cristian Guzmán
Cristian Guzmán
Cristian Antonio Guzmán is a Dominican baseball player who plays second base and shortstop, who is currently a free agent.-Minnesota Twins:...
, Nick Johnson
Nick Johnson
Nicholas Robert Johnson is an American Major League Baseball first baseman.He previously played for the New York Yankees , Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals , and the Florida Marlins...
, Michael O'Connor
Michael O'Connor (baseball player)
Michael Patrick O'Connor is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a member of the New York Yankees...
and John Patterson
John Patterson (pitcher)
John Hollis Patterson is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals franchise....
are expected to return from season-ending injuries.
After losing four starters (Liván Hernández, Tony Armas, Ramon Ortiz and Pedro Astacio) from the prior year, the Nationals invited an extraordinary 36 pitchers to spring training. By year's end, the team would become the first team in modern baseball (except for strike-shortened seasons) with no pitcher in double figures with wins or losses.
The season was notable for it being the Nationals final year at RFK Stadium and for Dmitri Young
Dmitri Young
Dmitri Dell Young is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Young is 6'2" and 275 pounds...
winning Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award, marking the team's first annual award since moving to D.C.
April
On Opening Day, the Nationals lost their starting shortstop (Cristian GuzmanCristian Guzmán
Cristian Antonio Guzmán is a Dominican baseball player who plays second base and shortstop, who is currently a free agent.-Minnesota Twins:...
, hamstring) and center fielder (Nook Logan
Nook Logan
Exavier Prente "Nook" Logan is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. He attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College. He made his Major League debut July 21, 2004, with the Detroit Tigers against the Kansas City Royals...
) for five weeks. At the end of April, one of their starters, Jerome Williams
Jerome Williams (baseball)
Jerome Lee Williams is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball...
hurt his ankle while batting and was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
May
In the space of just 10 days in May, Shawn HillShawn Hill
Shawn Richard Hill is a Canadian Major League Baseball pitcher in the Florida Marlins organization...
, John Patterson
John Patterson (pitcher)
John Hollis Patterson is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals franchise....
, and Jason Bergmann
Jason Bergmann
Jason Christopher Bergmann is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He was born in Neptune, New Jersey, and grew up in Manalapan Township, New Jersey where he played high school baseball at Manalapan High School...
went on the disabled list. Jerome Williams returned, pitched one game, and went back on the DL with a shoulder injury. The Washington Post wrote: "Almost everything that could sink a team's attitude has befallen the Nats. They started the year 1-8, then they lost eight in a row to drop to 9-25."
They pressed journeymen Mike Bacsik
Mike Bacsik (left-handed pitcher)
-External links:**...
, Micah Bowie
Micah Bowie
Micah Andrew Bowie is a left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent.-Early career:He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 8th round in...
(a relief pitcher) and Jason Simontacchi
Jason Simontacchi
Jason William Simontacchi is a baseball starting pitcher for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League. He has played four years in the major leagues, from - and...
, along with rookie reliever Levale Speigner
Levale Speigner
Jimmy Levale Speigner is an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent...
into the starting rotation, amidst predictions that the 2007 Nationals might equal the 1962 Mets' record of futility, 120 losses in one season..
After the team lost 8 straight games to sink to 9-25, the Nats won 11 of 15, mostly with patchwork starting pitching and timely hitting. and the return of Cristian Guzmán
Cristian Guzmán
Cristian Antonio Guzmán is a Dominican baseball player who plays second base and shortstop, who is currently a free agent.-Minnesota Twins:...
, who was hitting .343 by the end of May.
June
In June, the Nationals have been led by key hits by Dmitri Young, Cristian Guzmán and the power hitting of Ryan Zimmerman. But towards the end of the month, Guzman, hitting .329, was injured and lost for the season, and, following the injury, the Nationals lost 9 of their next 11 games.July
Dmitri Young, hitting .339 (third in the league) and slugging .512, was selected as the lone Nationals' representative in the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 2007, at AT&T Park, the home of the NL's San Francisco Giants...
. Despite rumors that the Nationals were seeking to trade Ronnie Belliard
Ronnie Belliard
Ronald "Ronnie" Belliard is a retired Major League Baseball second baseman of Dominican descent.-Early life:Belliard attended Central High School in Miami, Florida...
, Chad Cordero
Chad Cordero
Chad Patrick Cordero is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He broke into the big league ranks with the Montreal Expos...
, Jon Rauch
Jon Rauch
Jon Erich Rauch is a right-handed relief pitcher who is currently a free agent. At 6' 11" , he is the tallest player in Major League Baseball history. He is also an Olympic Gold Medalist.-Early years:...
and Young, the Nationals did not make any major trades before the non-waiver trade deadline.
Roster
| 2007 Washington Nationals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers |
Catchers Infielders Outfielders |
Manager Coaches (bullpen) (bench) (hitting, interim) (first base) (pitching) (third base) |
|||||||
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Dmitri Young Dmitri Young Dmitri Dell Young is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Young is 6'2" and 275 pounds... |
136 | 460 | 147 | .320 | 13 | 74 |
| 3B | Ryan Zimmerman Ryan Zimmerman Ryan Wallace Zimmerman is a Major League Baseball third baseman with the Washington Nationals. A 6-foot 3-inch player from the University of Virginia and Kellam High School, Zimmerman has been a member of the Nationals since his debut on September 1, 2005... |
162 | 653 | 174 | .266 | 24 | 91 |
| SS | Felipe López | 154 | 603 | 148 | .308 | 9 | 50 |
| LF | Ryan Church Ryan Church (baseball) Ryan Matthew Church Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent.-Cleveland Indians:... |
144 | 470 | 128 | .272 | 15 | 70 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|
Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Chico Matt Chico Matthew Bryan Chico is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Chico is of Mexican-American descent.During the offseason, Chico and his wife, Stephanie, reside in Viera, Florida.... |
31 | 167 | 7 | 9 | 4.63 | 94 |
| Jason Simontacchi Jason Simontacchi Jason William Simontacchi is a baseball starting pitcher for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League. He has played four years in the major leagues, from - and... |
13 | 70.2 | 6 | 7 | 6.37 | 42 |
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Cordero Chad Cordero Chad Patrick Cordero is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He broke into the big league ranks with the Montreal Expos... |
76 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 3.36 | 62 |
| Jon Rauch Jon Rauch Jon Erich Rauch is a right-handed relief pitcher who is currently a free agent. At 6' 11" , he is the tallest player in Major League Baseball history. He is also an Olympic Gold Medalist.-Early years:... |
88 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3.61 | 71 |
Records and firsts
The 2007 Nationals became the first team in modern baseball (1901–present) to trail 4-0 in each of their first six games. as well as the first to not score during the first three innings of each of their first ten games.The 2007 Nationals also set the National League record for not scoring a run in the first inning of their first 22 games.