“From the first game at RFK to Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off win to open Nationals Park, and of course. [the] 2019 World Series, the last 20 years have been filled with so many great and memorable moments,” said Mark D. Lerner, managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals. said in a press release kicking off the 20th anniversary celebration. capital.
“The club has continued to grow and become what it is today. And while the players, the stadium, and even the logo have changed, our fans have remained the same. That’s why we’ve made them one of our 20 teams. I’m so excited to have it at the forefront.th Anniversary celebration. We look forward to hearing their stories and achieving even more with the next generation of players and fans. ”
Photo Credit: Mitchell Leighton/MLB Photo Credit: Getty Images
As the Nationals prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first season in Washington, D.C. in 2005, Nationals manager Ryan Zimmerman said in an interview with MLB Network last week that Nationals Park opened in 2008. He said he believed that the ball club was finally able to open. Now relevant.
“I’ve always said that I think building a new stadium is the first thing related to the Nationals franchise,” Zimmerman explained to hosts Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds. . “RFK is a stadium that has a lot of history in D.C. and is loved by people, but a baseball team needs its own stadium, it’s their identity, it’s their home field, it’s where their fans come. The area around it, the Navy Yard, has blossomed and grown tremendously over the past 20 years.
“Having that stadium that year and opening that stadium was really the first year for the organization, in my opinion. And we had some lean years at first, but we had a good 10 years there. All year we were either in the playoffs or in the playoff hunt, which was a fun time for the fans and of course for the players.”
Although they started establishing their own identity within a few seasons, Zimmerman said he was happy to see the team begin to embrace the franchise’s long history in Montreal.
“I think a lot of the players I played with at the beginning of my career played in Montreal for several years and talked about how much they loved this city,” he said.
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Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
“Initially, I think the Nationals were trying to establish their own identity, and there was kind of a gulf between the Expos and the Nationals. And over time, I think this is a good thing. We embraced a certain identity.” Montreal’s history is similar. ”
Some of the players who transferred played important roles in the careers of future All-Stars and World Series champions.
“The first year or two, I had guys like Brian Schneider and Nick Johnson, and Royce Clayton helped me through the roof,” Zimmerman said. Play the game the right way.
Zimmerman said the current club, with many young, talented players establishing themselves in the majors, could use the veteran’s influence. But the former third baseman and first baseman for D.C. likes what he has on the current roster.
“It’s been a lot of fun being with these young kids and watching them and getting to know them. I can truly say I enjoy rooting for them because they’re all good kids and want to play the game the right way. Because they think and they want to do the work.”They want to get better. That’s interesting, all the things you showed [reacting to a video featuring CJ Abrams and James Wood, etc.] Besides Dylan [Crews] From then on [Juan] foreign trade [with the Padres] That surprised everyone. So in the end it was okay. ”
Abrams, Wood, Mackenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, and Jarlin Susanna (and, yes, Luke Voight). It’s okay for now.
“I think they’ll be fun to watch,” he says of the current roster. It’s about doing things right, and I don’t make those decisions, but I think obviously we need people like that. ”
Although Zimmerman is not the general manager, he echoed recent statements made by general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez.
“If we can come out and get one or two impact players — I mean, it’s a tough division. I’m not trying to be crazy, but it’s going to be fun to watch.”
