As a 5’11 (on a good day) former rec league basketball player, middle school quarterback, and 2-time state championship high school baseball player (no big deal) athlete, I knew I was never going to make the pros. Dreams of being a baseball player slowly faded with my 75 mph fastball, my 7.00-second 60-yard dash, and my lack of most, or maybe all, of the 5 tools.
Now, why am I bringing this up in an article bridging the Washington Commanders and the Washington Nationals?
Because with everything that I have said about myself thus far, before the season I would have told you it was more likely I become the starting shortstop for the Washington Nationals than the Commanders making the NFC Championship game.
Without any games of significance for the Redskins/Football Team/Commanders in the 21st century, they are on the brink of achieving history, after re-tooling the roster and undergoing organizational changes.
The Nationals, on the other hand, achieved the pinnacle of the baseball world in 2019, after a sustained run of success from 2012-2019. They have done nothing since.
General Manager Mike Rizzo assembled a roster loaded with talent, using all possible avenues to acquire key players. The Nationals were led by free agent signings Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, trade acquisitions Trea Turner, Daniel Hudson, and Adam Eaton, and homegrown talents Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman, and, of course, international signings Victor Robles and the great Juan Soto.
By having the backing of ownership to make these moves, Rizzo assembled one of the best rosters in baseball, paired with club house veterans from other organizations like Gerardo Parra and Matt Adams, and a manager in Davey Martinez who had previously won a World Series title with the Chicago Cubs as a bench coach.
Similar to the 2019 World Series team, the Commanders have gotten to this point with superstar homegrown talents like Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin, with key free agents acquisitions like former Super Bowl champions Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner.
Although Ertz and Wagner are both past their primes, they have been very productive, and provide consistent leadership through all the ups and downs of the season.
The Commanders are in a position to compete immediately with a slightly above-average roster at best, led by a couple of superstars, a new coach, a new GM, and an ownership change.
What once looked like a long rebuild for the Commanders, took less than a year to come to fruition.
So, what can the Nationals learn from this?
Ownership and culture are integral to the success of a franchise. Belief in ownership leads to more signings and more confidence from the core group of players a team has.
Washington has its building blocks. A young rotation with promise, and two potential superstars in James Wood and Dylan Crews. It is now time for ownership to step up.
Once in play for every big free agent, even ones like Max Scherzer, fans, and the players, now face the reality of taking 1-year bounce back fliers, with ownership seemingly content with being lower to middle of the pack.
A culture change needs to happen with the Washington Nationals like it did for the Commanders. This does not have to be by starting from scratch, but a retool revolving around your superstar players with productive veterans that are bought in. Management and coaches should be replaced if underachieving, and not applauded for staying the same. Ownership needs to instill confidence in the organization that they are bought in by bringing in more talent.
So, believe it or not, I hope the Nationals learn from the Commanders turn around. We have the potential young superstars. We have surrounding talent, albeit with a lot of holes. Now it is the time to make it happen. If it was only as easy as snapping my fingers and getting fresh blood into the organization.