When the 2022 Opening Day roster is announced by the Washington Nationals, there will be several faces different than that of the 2021 Opening Day roster. As for the front office, the Nationals missed their opportunity at adding a face from the 2019 World Series team. Howie Kendrick has been hired as a special assistant to the general manager, by the Philadelphia Phillies. A travesty the Nationals couldn’t bring him aboard in some capacity or another.
Kendrick only spent part of one season with the Phillies. He only played in 39 games for them. He means little to their fan base and their community. He is not an iconic player there. He isn’t Ryan Howard or Jimmy Rollins. No disrespect, but he isn’t even a Pedro Feliz. Feliz was a flash in a pan in Philly as well, but at least he hit .333 during the Phills World Series run.
If Howie Kendrick was going to take a role in a baseball front office, it should have been one for the Nationals.
While the Nationals don’t really seem like the type of franchise which brings in special assistants, and such, an exception for Kendrick could have been made. Aside from being a fan favorite, he hit the most iconic (maybe the top two) home run in Washington Nationals history.
Kendrick hit .316 in 238 career games for the Nationals. He’s a .294 hitter over the course of his 15 years in the big leagues, and he played all over the diamond. He has insights to offer any organization, but more specifically, an organization which he brought a World Series title to. Even if he’s the guy who comes into the office once or twice a month, throws his feet on the desk and says, “yeah, I’d go pursue that guy in free agency,” or “that kid needs promoted to the next level in the minor leagues,” having him associated with the franchise is a good thing.
We can’t live in the past forever, and with every passing day, the ecstasies of the 2019 season get further away. Why not have Howie’s smiling face at the stadium every so often to help us get through this rebuild?
This is a great addition to the Phillies organization. This is great for Howie Kendrick, in his post-playing days. This is unfortunate the Nationals couldn’t have been the ones to bring him in.