The Washington Nationals have finally made a pivotal decision that fans had been waiting on for awhile now. No, they have not decided to trade All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams yet, although that could possibly be on the horizon despite President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni's most recent comments, but there was a big decision made.
That decision actually did not come with anything related to the product on the field or the personnel of any particular players, but it did involve someone who has spent a long time covering them. After the retirement of legendary and long time announcer of the Nationals Bob Carpenter as the play-by-play guy for 20 years, necessary change was much needed for the organization.
Fans were left even more curious after it was announced that the Nationals were moving away from the MASN Sports network, who had been solely responsible for airing Nationals game for a very long time. There had been speculation that the organization was going to bring in some completely new faces, or was even going to look into some previous franchise legends like Ryan Zimmerman or Ian Desmond.
However, the decision the Nationals made as the successor to Bob Carpenter was to promote long time sideline reporter Dan Kolko, who has become a staple of the gameday experience for Nationals fans everywhere. While reviews for Kolko's play-by-play are mixed by many fans, you can't really deny that Kolko is the logical pick to take Carpenter's place.
Kolko was seen as the next man up after Carpenter had begun to take more time off over the last few years, and he had developed some solid chemistry with color commentator Kevin Frandsen, who will be back for 2026 as well. Kolko has covered the Nationals since 2012, and he has been someone the organization has coveted a lot.
He has always been beloved by members of the team for being the first person they speak with following a Nationals victory on the field, and members of the organization felt the same way. After being fired by MASN back in 2021 as the network dealt with layoffs, the Nationals went out of their way to hire Kolko directly to keep him involved on the broadcast side, another sign that this decision was coming at some point.
While many Nationals fans will continue to have mixed reviews about Kolko and his performance in the booth, I personally am happy for him, as he has more than bided his time and earned the opportunity. For nostalgic purposes, I am glad to see a little bit of continuity on the broadcast side, as many things will continue to look different visually in 2026 both on the field and off for the Nationals.
What do you think of Dan Kolko taking over as the new play-by-play man for the Washington Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.