What Should Washington Nationals Fans Be Thankful For On Thanksgiving?

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Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Some of the members of our staff wrote about what Washington Nationals’ fans should be thankful for.

With today being Thanksgiving, it is a good time to sit down with your family and friends, have some turkey with some side dishes, and watch some football. When I’m with my family, one of the things we do before we eat is go around the table and say what we are thankful for.

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This season, the Washington Nationals had a disappointing year as they failed to live up to the lofty expectations. However, despite this year’s bad season, there are many things to be thankful for. For one, be thankful that the organization just finished its 10^th season and that the Washington D.C. area has a baseball team to root for.

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Whether it was the play of some top stars in the game such as NL MVP Bryce Harper or ace Max Scherzer, the Nats did have some players who fans should be happy to watch for years to come. However, they did acquire a proverbial “turkey” at the trade deadline last July when they traded for Jonathan Papelbon. Plus, there in a division that still looks winnable in 2016, despite the Mets making it all the way to the World Series this year.

With that being said, some of our writers, including myself, wrote about what they are the most thankful for. We at District On Deck are thankful that you choose to read our work every day of the year and we thank you for your support.

Next: Bryce Harper/Max Scherzer

Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

With this being my first year as co-editor here, I was excited to see what the Washington Nationals were going to be like in 2015. First, I wanted to watch Bryce Harper and see the talent he had. Then, the team went out and signed Max Scherzer to be the ace of a talented rotation.

Both of those players did not disappoint. Harper went on to have a MVP season and prove he is not the most overrated player in the sport. Plus, the now 23-year-old showed a great deal of maturity this season, both with his plate discipline and his leadership in the dugout. He was able to stay healthy and contribute every single day. It makes you wonder what kind of season he would have had if the players that were protecting him in the order, such as Ryan Zimmerman, stayed healthy.

As for Scherzer, while it will come at the cost of losing one of the franchise pitchers in Jordan Zimmermann, he lived up to the $210 million contract in year one. He provided numerous historical moments this season, whether it was his two no-hitters (one near perfect game) or his 16-strikeout, one-hit performance against the Brewers. Despite having some rough patches in July and August, he still finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Voting and had three complete games.

Even though the Nats have some moves to make to improve the team, fans still know they have a MVP at the heart of the order and a leader at the top of the rotation that should lead to success in the short term for this franchise.

Ricky Keeler, Co-Editor

Next: Mike Rizzo

The Washington Nationals were one of the biggest disappointments in baseball last season. And when the team failed to reach the postseason after being considered World Series favorites heading into Spring Training, it became abundantly clear that changes would have to be made this offseason to get the team back on track for 2016 and beyond. Prior to the offseason, however, it wasn’t clear what exactly those changes would be.

Most assumed that manager Matt Williams would be gone in the offseason, and that assumption was quickly confirmed when the team fired their manager the day after the regular season ended. But for many, firing Williams wasn’t enough. Some believed that more changes were necessary to right the wrongs of 2015, and many Nationals fans and pundits alike even demanded that general manager Mike Rizzo be fired as well.

Fortunately for the team, that did not happen. Rizzo and the Nationals’ ownership fired Williams and the coaching staff and promised to make changes this offseason, but the team would not go as far as firing the man who got them where they are today.

To be clear, Rizzo certainly deserves a part of the blame for the Nationals’ 2015 failures. After all, the acquisition of Jonathan Papelbon proved to be one of the most damaging trade-deadline transactions in recent memory, and Rizzo was unable to acquire any team-improving players at the deadline. Butt Rizzo is the one who built this team from the ground up, and despite a couple of questionable decisions last season, he’s still one of the best general managers in the game.

For a position as all-encompassing and constantly-evolving as the general manager’s office, it’s important to judge success based on the entire body of work instead of just one or two key moments. Rizzo is the one who helped secure young talent such as Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon in the draft. Rizzo is the one who constantly amazes us with seemingly impossible trades, such as the acquisition of Trea Turner.

Under Rizzo’s leadership, the Nationals have skyrocketed from the bottom of the league to one of baseball’s most prosperous franchises, and those are facts that simply can’t be ignored. Did he make mistakes last season? Absolutely. It’s baseball, and when things go wrong, nobody is blameless. But did he deserve to be fired? Absolutely not. Rizzo has been the heart and soul of this team for years, and the future of the franchise may very well be in his hands.

For the first time since he took over as general manager in 2009, it looked like the Nationals might actually have a motive to fire Rizzo. Today, I’m thankful they didn’t.

Pablo Roa, Co-Editor

Next: Ryan Zimmerman

Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

As a Nationals fan who has grown up following the team since their relocation to D.C. in 2005, I am thankful for Ryan Zimmerman and everything he has contributed to this organization throughout his 11-year career. The former Face of the Franchise has been through it all with the Nats, whether it be enduring six consecutive losing seasons under four different managers or celebrating the team’s first playoff clincher in Nats (2005-present) history, Zim has been there.

While some historic franchises have the luxury of celebrating past greats like Joe DiMaggio or Sandy Koufax, the Nats are left with players from only the last ten seasons. Sure, their “franchise history” certainly includes the Expos, but Nats fans as a whole tend to disassociate themselves with the former team. Zimmerman, the Nats first ever draft pick and franchise leader in nearly every offensive statistic, represents everything the organization did to turn this team around.

For years, Zim managed the hot corner, making tough grounders look routine and displaying his cannon of an arm that helped land him a Gold Glove Award in 2009. He was the lone representative for the Nats at the All-Star Game that season, and won a Silver Slugger as well. While shoulder injuries pushed him over to first base and caused him to miss time in each of the last two seasons and in 2011, he has never posted a season with an OPS+ under 103 (aside from 2005, when he only appeared in 20 games).

Next: District Daily: Zimmerman Says No Problem In Nats Clubhouse

Mr. Walk-Off has provided Nats fans with memories, historic performances, and a respectable presence on a team that used to lack all of the above. The longest-tenured player in team history may not have had the most spectacular 2015 campaign, but there is no doubt in my mind that I am most thankful for Ryan Zimmerman. And hey, he’s only 31. There may be room for another dominant season yet.

Matt Weyrich, Staff Writer

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