Looking back at the 2026 Nationals' Local Media Award recipients

After the Divisional rounds wrapped up over the weekend with the Cleveland Guardians completing an unprecedented 2-0 series comeback against their division rival Chicago White Sox, it was another subtle reminder that we are drawing closer to the start of the offseason. In this offseason, we do not yet know how things will pan out for the Washington Nationals.

They have a lot going on with regard to ideas for their future and how whatver allocated budget should be spent on new acquisitions, but the organization is undoubtedly in a better spot now than it was even a year ago. As evidenced by the team's play on the field, the players were put in much better positions to succeed, which is also what was demonstrated by the local DC media's choices for their 2026 Media Award recipients.

James Wood among Nationals' 2026 Media Award recipients

Although this news is more than a couple weeks old now, with the official press release from the Nationals coming back on September 26th, it was something that seemingly fell under the radar for a lot of Nationals fans. Given that the season was basically over at that point, it was something that we forgot to tackle in the moment.

Nonetheless, the local media's 2026 award recipients included James Wood, who was named the Nationals' Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He earned a whopping 62% of the vote, while teammate and fellow 2026 All-Star CJ Abrams finished as the runner-up while earning 37.5% of the vote.

It was certainly a case in which Wood had some very legitimate competition for the award from Abrams and even righty starter Cade Cavalli, who earned both an extension from the Nationals and the team's Pitcher of the Year Award by the media in unanimous fashion. He seems slated to earn some down-ballot National League Cy Young Award votes, and seemed like he could continue to ascend heading into next season.

The final award had two winners, with Jacob Young and Nasim Nunez being the first ever co-recipients of the Good Guy Award. It was the first time that Nunez has ever won it, while Young actually won this same hardware back in 2024. The award itself is given to players who make a sizable difference and impact in the local DC community, with both players giving back a lot in their free time.

What are your thoughts on the choices made by the local DC media for their award recipient choices? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.

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