While the days since the Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019 have been pretty tough to watch for the most part, us fans have gotten to see a ton of roster turnover year over year. With that constant revolving door of new faces comes the pleasure of watching some guys, while also having the misfortune of watching others.
Guys like Maikel Franco, Lucas Sims, and Dominic Smith come to mind when thinking of some of those 1-year signings that blew up in the team's face, but other players like Jeimer Candelario, Jesse Winker, and Dylan Floro all ended up working out favorably for the team.
But out of every random face that has donned the Curly W logo on their hat since the World Series run, one in particular, a former fan favorite, has officially retired from professional baseball, former utility man Josh Harrison.
Yesterday morning, Harrison posted on his X account that he would be officially retiring from MLB, capping off a 13-year career in the big leagues that even featured a couple years in DC, as a member of the Nationals.
This ride was nothing short of amazing! God is good! 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/t8HqK7bs2k
— Josh Harrison (@jhay_da_man) May 31, 2025
If you don't really remember his time in DC, that makes sense, as he is definitely the most well-known from his days as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he teamed up with guys like Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole, and Starling Marte back when they were a perennial contender every season. However, his time in DC was very solid, and while he may not be a member of the All-Time Nationals team, he was sure to thank the Nationals in his post as well for giving him an opportunity to represent the city.
Harrison for his career was worth a very solid 16.4 WAR, and accumulated a 2.9 WAR over 123 games with the Nationals. He had a .291/.262/.431 slash line during his tenure with the club, including a .794 OPS, 9 homers, and 52 RBIs as well. As a true utility man, he appeared in games for the Nationals at second base, third base, and all 3 outfield positions, and even played in every single position, pitcher included, besides catcher in his big league career.
As he steps into the next chapter of his life, Harrison was a 2-time All-Star, both as a member of the Pirates, and even had a 9th-place finish in NL MVP voting in 2014 for Pittsburgh as well. He was always remembered as just a solid and scrappy player, and a guy that could contribute in a number of different ways as a 5'8" guy without a true position. His smile and happy energy was a joy for every club he was apart of, which shows why he was receiving so much love upon his announcement.
Congratulations to Josh Harrison on a great big league career, and here's to whatever is next in his journey! Enjoy this video of Harrison mic'd up while playing for the Nationals back in 2021 to remember his energy.
What was your favorite Josh Harrison memory? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.