The 2025 season came to a close on Sunday afternoon for the Washington Nationals. While it was a tough season overall, with the team failing to even match their win total from the last couple seasons of 71, there were some overall positives of the season to take away into a pivotal offseason and heading into 2026.
For the team on the field, the penultimate game was a tough one, as the Nationals were shutout by the visiting Chicago White Sox in ugly fashion, dropping the game 8-0 and only recording 1 hit in the process. The 2025 season was the first one in a long time in which there was not a single no-hitter recorded, but the Nationals tried their hardest to give White Sox starter Shane Smith a good chance to get one done in Game 162.
Smith took a no-hitter into the 6th inning before Brady House recorded the lone Nationals hit with a single, and the Nationals went quietly into the offseason throughout the rest of the game. James Wood avoided breaking the single-season strikeout record by only a few, and Daylen Lile saw his average dip just below .300 to cap off a stellar rookie season.
However, the star of the day was legendary longtime broadcaster Bob Carpenter, who received a ton of praise from many around the sport and baseball world all weekend long. On Saturday, the Nationals held a tribute ceremony with their "See You Later Day," which was all about celebrating Carpenter and his 2 decades of work for the Nationals organization.
The touching final tributes came on Sunday, as the Nationals played Carpenter an awesome tribute video that included appearances from broadcasting legends such as Joe Buck, Lee Corso, Johnny Holliday, and even former Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond, who made a handful of appearances in the booth over the last couple seasons.
Carpenter fought back tears for most of the day, but he was overcome with emotion as the Nationals emptied the dugout for a team-wide tip of the cap to Carpenter before the game started, as they saluted him for all of his efforts to the organization for over half of his broadcasting career.
The legend capped off his final broadcast by fighting through tears once again while signing off with his signature, "See. You. Later." call. Overall, it was an emotional end to a tough season for the Nationals, but it was incredible to see the outpouring of a true legend all across social media throughout the weekend.
The voice of the Washington Nationals, Bob Carpenter, signs off for the final time. 🥹👋 #ThankYouBob pic.twitter.com/nqHoDZOj6y
— Bennett Lehmann (@DCBerk) September 28, 2025
What was your favorite call from Bob Carpenter? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.