For the first time in seventy – nine years a baseball team based in Washington, D.C. has reached the Major League Baseball postseason. Prior to this year’s Washington Nationals (Nats) making the postseason the 1933 Senators were the last team to still be playing baseball in October when they reached the World Series. If you had asked me a year ago if the Nats would be in this position, I would have said that you were kidding me. As of September 25th, with only nine games left in the regular season any combination of Nats wins or Atlanta Braves losses totaling five would bring the National League East championship to our nation’s capital. By Monday, October 1st that number had been whittled down to one and the Nats had the opportunity to celebrate a division championship. Even though the Nats would lose that game 2 – 0 to the Philadelphia Phillies the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves 2 – 1. So, guess what? The 2012 National League East Championship goes to the Washington Nationals!!!
After the Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2005 over the last seven years the Nats record is 589 wins and 703 losses with only one winning season and postseason berth. The Nats opened the National League Division Series (NLDS) on the road on Sunday, October 7 against the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, the Nats would see their season end when they lost the best of five NLDS three games to two. What makes this even more exciting is the fact that the Baltimore Orioles are having a good year as well. With only eight games left the Orioles (O’s) have already assured themselves of a winning record. By Tuesday, October 2 the O’s had already secured a postseason berth and were only one game behind the New York Yankees for the American League (AL) East championship with only two games left in the regular season. They would split those games and finish in second place and travel to the Texas Rangers for an AL Wild Card Game on Friday, October 5. After winning that game the O’s would take on the Yankees in the American League Division Series. However, they would see their season end on the same day as the Nats. Despite their early exits from the postseason it has been a year to remember in both Washington and Baltimore.
by Kris L.
