[MCKDE23]

Bringing a Championship to Washington
I know this is my 3^rd new thread in about a month. Until now, I haven’t found a team that has interested me. Perhaps it is better that I play a little offline and bond with a team before starting a thread about said team. But after reflecting on what I like most about baseball I decided to do a Washington Nationals thread.


The Washington Nationals are a special team for me. In a previous thread on my old account, I mentioned that I had gone to a Nationals game with my wife during our honey moon. It was approximately one week after the Navy Yard shooting in Washington D.C., half the city was under construction because of a recent earth quake; which I guess is not so common in the Washington D.C. Area. Therefore, half the monuments were closed. While we were in town, we were looking for something to do, so I called up an uncle who has some connections in the area and he got us baseball tickets for the Washington Nationals vs. the Atlanta Braves.


The tickets were in the Presidential Suite on field level. These tickets were on the Home Side just behind Home Plate. I remember this because I got to talk to Jayson Werth just before the game through the netting by the warm up circle. It was the first time I ever saw Bryce Harper in person. Even back then, he was the best athlete in terms of baseball that I ever seen. It was the first time I saw the Running Presidents. During this time Denard Span was still on his 29-game hit streak. Also, the Team was loaded!



Some pitchers included Dan Haren, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Tanner Roark, Stephan Strasburg… The Infield had Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Adam LaRoche, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman. The Outfield had Jayson Werth, Denard Span, Scott Hairston Jr, David DeJesus, and of course Bryce Harper.



That Atlanta Braves team wasn’t bad either. Freddie Freeman, , the Upton Brothers, Jason Heyward. Andrelton Simmons, Brian McCann, Brandon Beachy, Freddy Garcia, Tim Hudson, Craig Kimbrel, Kris Medlen, Mike Minor. A lot of those guys filled my fantasy baseball rosters back in the day!



Overall it was my best baseball experience. I’ve been to a Yankees Game, a Cincinnati Game (against Cleveland), Several Tigers Game, Wrigley Field. I’ve seen a few near almost perfect games in person. However, this experience was the best because I was newly married, and it was my first game with my wife. Until now I could not find a favorite baseball team. Perhaps the Washington Nationals are that team that I’ve been looking for. Guess its time to Buy a few Hats!


So, I am using the base 18 OOTP game. However, I am going to base my opening day off of 2019… with the caveat that Bryce Harper signs a 10 year $300m contract with the Nationals.

Here are the ownership deals:
1) Achieve a Winning Record (Easy)
2) Extend Bryce Harper
3) Acquire a Cy Young Caliber Player (Hard)
4) Reach the World Series


Here is our starting Lineup:
SP) Max Scherzer
CL) Sean Doolittle

SS – Trea Turner
1B – Ryan Zimmerman
RF – Bryce Harper
3B – Anthony Rendon
2B – Brian Dozier
LF – Adam Eaton
CF – Michael A. Taylor
SP-
C – Kurt Suzuki

Let’s Play Ball!