Nats’ celebration will be worth waiting for

2019 title run was to have been feted Thursday

All winter, until the world changed, my column for the Washington Nationals’ home opener, which would have been Thursday, was all set in my mind. The best goosebump moment of such occasions after a World Series win is often the pre-game introductions, with each player getting his due of roars from a standing crowd. I knew the biggest eruptions, deservedly, would be for Stephen Strasburg, Howie Kendrick, Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin, Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson. To be classy, maybe also a brief “thanks” video for Anthony Rendon.

But I wanted to praise the unsung or “semi-sung” Nats. After 95 years, why not spread the love? As Scherzer said, “The coolest thing about October was everybody did something really important.”

Adam Eaton hit just .246 in October but, on close inspection, produced as much or maybe more than might have been expected of former Nats right fielder Bryce Harper. Apparently overthe-hill Ryan Zimmerman said, “Not just yet,” and produced in five crucial spots. Kurt Suzuki, 3-for-30, had a huge, tiebreaking, seventh-inning homer off Justin Verlander in Game 2 of the World Series. Who says a platoon catcher in a deep slump can’t shift a Series with one swing? Asdrúbal Cabrera had six hits in five Series starts at second base; that kept creaky old Kendrick fresh for his heroics as a designated hitter in four wins in Houston.

Aníbal Sánchez, 2.50 ERA in three starts, had October’s hidden gem: a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series, nursing a 1-0 lead against the Cardinals in St. Louis. If the Nats had lost, that’s a different series.

Above all, how about some praise for Dave Martinez — as a manager, not just as a fine man. Some of us fired him in May. Yet in the post-season he went 17for-17 in handling the exit of his starting pitcher, one of a manager’s toughest jobs. He got key outs from rookie Tanner Rainey and used his Big Three starters as relievers in ways that will be discussed for years. Martinez’s calm, cheerful disposition was ideal for both his hugging, dancing team and for facing the pressure of trailing in five elimination games.

Whenever the Nationals do have their home opener — whether that’s this summer or next spring — the joy and relief in Washington will be just part of a world celebration.

On such a post-pandemic day, focusing on unsung acts from October 2019 will be inappropriate — far in the rear-view mirror and dwarfed by larger emotions as we mourn the dead and honour the gigantic heroism of health-care workers.

But right now, if only for a moment, let’s enjoy memories of a thrilling title run that we had planned to revisit Thursday.

Whenever mulling last season’s World Series run, Eaton jumps to mind. In a superb October, Soto reached base 27 times; Eaton reached 26 times. In the Nats’ dozen playoff wins, Soto scored nine runs and drove in 10; Eaton scored 10 and drove in 10.

EVERYBODY

DID SOMETHING

REALLY IMPORTANT.

From the day Eaton arrived in a trade, he was a poor man’s replacement in case Harper left as a free agent, though he would never duplicate Harper’s big-game presence and love for the October spotlight. But for a month, Eaton was Harper, except with team-centred energy. That may occur only once, but it only needed to happen once.

Baseball can’t figure out how to measure managers. Few metrics help at all. But deciding when to pull your starting pitcher is crucial. Look at Martinez’s record in October: In the final inning in which he sent his starter back out, the pitcher completed the inning 14 times. In 13 of those innings, the starters allowed a total of three earned runs. The three times the starter didn’t finish his final inning, he allowed one run or fewer in it. Even the lone “exception” wasn’t a mistake. With a 7-1 lead in Game 4 against St. Louis, Martinez let Corbin allow three runs in the fifth inning to be eligible for the pennant-clinching win.

Not a single “you left him in too long.”

Eventually, we will have that bona fide Nats opener and with far more cause to celebrate than just a baseball title. Until then, stay well.

MIKE EHRMANN / GETTY IMAGES Manager Dave Martinez of the Washington Nationals hoists the Commissioners Trophy after winning the 2019 World Series in seven games over Houston last October.