Washington Nationals: Who Wears The “Curly W” First In HOF?
By Ron Juckett
As the Washington Nationals mature, the chances of a player wearing their hat on a Hall of Fame plaque increases. Who will be the first to wear the “Curly W?”
Although it is unlikely to come in 2017, at some point, someone will be enshrined at the National Baseball Hall of Fame with a Washington Nationals hat on their plaque.
Gary Carter and Andre Dawson are the two players in franchise history to wear Montreal Expos hats in Cooperstown. We expect Tim Raines to be the third.
In the 36 years the team played in Quebec, several players spent time in Montreal on their way to enshrinement. When the team moved south to Washington, there are players eventually headed for the Hall to play here. They will have not only the honor of sharing a franchise with Carter, Dawson and Raines but a city where Walter Johnson called home.
Because the Nats are still young, celebrating their 13th season in Washington this year, the team will be mentioned on the plaque, but the hat will be with another team.
In the next generation that will change. As the Nationals become a destination team with a history of making the playoffs, they will have players who will, in time, get their day in the warm New York sun for immortality.
Who will be the first?
Players no longer have a choice of which hat they wear but, as this generation of talent ages, the “Curly W” is coming to baseball’s shrine.
Which of these five players will be the first Washington Nationals immortal to go forward to Cooperstown representing you, their passionate fans.