Jayson Werth turned DC baseball culture around, taking the Washington Nationals from a new struggling franchise to perennial contenders.
Before becoming a Washington Nationals icon, there’s a picture of Jayson Werth taken in 1997.
He leans up against a batting cage, hand on his hip, wearing thin-framed circular glasses, clean-shaven. He looks to be watching a teammate take some swings, maybe getting his timing down. His hat is black and displays a Baltimore Oriole. Drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, mainly as a catcher and first baseman, he never played a game with them.
His first game at the highest level of America’s pastime was played in Canada in 2002 for the Toronto Blue Jays. For the next four years of his career he struggled to find his place, battling injuries and, by many accounts, not performing up to the expectations of a first round draft pick.
In 2006. he signed a year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies and stretched his time there to result in a ring a two-year, $10 million follow-up deal. Then he left and came to DC.
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Since then, one of the biggest debates in Washington sports is if he has been worth the money or not.
The Washington Nationals signed Werth to one of the biggest contracts in baseball history for seven-years and $128 million. By doing this, he committed to a team that had never finished higher than fourth in the NL East since being moved to DC from Montreal.
His first year on the team, 2011, they finished third, one game below 500; not amazing, but better.
In 2012, the Nats signed Gio Gonzalez, as well as Edwin Jackson. That year they finished first winning 98 games. Since then they have not finished lower than second, winning the division three times while currently cruising to their fourth postseason spot in six years.
Even to a casual fan, it should be obvious that there is a direct correlation between Werth’s blockbuster signing and the team’s success. However, some people still doubt his signing, citing injuries and overall production.
First, injuries happen.
Bryce Harper is nearly as common a resident of the DL, and at this point no one questions Harper’s superstardom. The only person on the team who doesn’t seem to get hurt is Max Scherzer and even he has fallen victim to the injury plague that seemingly will not leave this year’s team alone.
Now let’s look at Werth’s statistics, something every fan does when evaluating a player. In his tenure with the Nationals, Werth has hit .267/.359/.440 and paired this with 108 home runs. This isn’t bad, but it is also not elite.
This is where many fans’ evaluations stop. It’s easy to go look at a player’s (not just Werth’s) body of work and instantly judge their value. Werth’s statistics do not warrant his contract, but they also do not represent his full value. They don’t even come close.
To evaluate his contributions to the team, you have to go below the surface. You have to look at his intrinsic value- something that is very difficult to measure in baseball. Yes, we live in an age of Statcast and sabermetrics but there is still no way to measure clubhouse contributions.
How do you evaluate the immense effect Werth has had on Harper, not to mention all of the younger players? He is the quintessential grizzled veteran (something his physical image seems to be dedicated to proving). He’s seen “battle” and he’s won. That’s why he was signed. He made the Nationals a legitimate contender. His contract showed the league that they were a serious team, that they were no longer perpetual bottom-dwellers.
He’s set the tone for what type of person a player is expected to be when they are part of the organization. If you watch, his most important contributions are the little moments. Things not often shown on highlight reels, not discussed by commentators during primetime analysis.
Werth’s influence is seen even when he’s injured. He sits in the dugout and talks to Brian Goodwin after a popping out, or Weekend at Bernie’s dances with Wilmer Difo, a breakout player and godsend this year. He brings a genuine excitement to the game, one time this year diving on top of Harper in a moment that could only be described as pure joy.
After being sidelined since early June with a lingering toe injury, he stated that he felt like a kid again playing his first game back. He came back in style in the most Werth way imaginable.
On his second at-bat. he worked to a 3-2 count which seems almost inevitable every time he’s at the plate. He proceeded to launch a 425 foot bomb to left. Jumping out of the batter’s box, he threw his bat and let out a scream in the direction of the home dugout.
Later, he worked a clutch 12-pitch double that broke the game open. They went on to win 11-2, then the following day 8-3, providing a resurgence of the terrifying offense this team is capable of.
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They needed their leader and he needed to be back with them. Regardless of if the Nationals end this year as the one happy team, there can be absolutely no doubt that as far as his contract goes, it’s been more than worth it. He’s been more than worth it.