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The
Washington Nationals:
Annual History *



hand point * This interactive Web page presents detailed year-by-year historical data that were formerly displayed altogether on the Washington Nationals page. That page now only shows detailed data for the current year, as well as historical annual summary data. Click on the years listed below to get the respective annual data.


2014: Same lineup, new manager, a second postseason run

After a disappointing year in 2013, the selection of Matt Williams as the Nationals' new manager was received very well, and the team began the season with high hopes for making it to the postseason. Former Tiger pitcher Doug Fister was signed during the off-season, but he was hurt during spring training and did not play until May. Catcher Wilson Ramos hurt himself in Game 1, and was out for several weeks. Next, Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper both injured a thumb sliding into a base, and both missed several weeks of play. Even though the Nats started the season off with a bang, including grand slams by Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond, the depleted team fell out of first place during mid-April. They improved during June, and surged into first place by mid-July. The acquisition of infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from the Cleveland Indians proved to be a timely, after yet another injury to Ryan Zimmerman. The Nats went on a ten-game winning streak in mid-August, and achieved an even higher winning percentage in September, finishing the season 17 games ahead of the second-place Braves. But fate once again turned against them in the postseason, as they lost the National League Division Series to the San Francisco Giants three games to one, with each loss by a one-run margin. Most heartbreaking was NLDS Game 2, when the Giants tied it 1-1 in the top of the ninth inning, and in the 18th inning, Brandon Belt homered for the Giants, who won it, 2-1. The Nats won Game 3, in San Francisco, but the Giants took Game 4, savoring their triumph at home.

Starting positions, 2014
CF: Denard Span .302
LF: Bryce Harper .273
Ryan Zimmerman .280
Denard Span RF: Jayson Werth .292
Bryce Harper Jayson Werth
SS: Ian Desmond .255 2B: Danny Espinosa .219
Asdrubal Cabrera* .229
Ian Desmond Danny Espinosa
3B: Anthony Rendon.287
1B: Adam LaRoche .259
Anthony Rendon Gio Gonzalez Adam LaRoche
  C: Wilson Ramos .267
Jose Lobaton .234
 
Batting average for position players, ERA for pitchers.
Manager: Matt Williams *
Wilson Ramos * (asterisk): new player;  
Nationals, 2014: best batting and pitching records
Batting average Home runs RBIs ERA Wins Strikeouts
Denard Span .302 Adam LaRoche 26 Adam LaRoche 92 Doug Fister 2.41 Doug Fister 16 Stephen Strasburg 242

 
Nationals' head-to-head matchups, 2014
OpponentWinsLosses
ARI61
ATL811
BAL13
BOS00
CHC43
CHW00
CIN33
CLE00
COL51
DET00
HOU40
KC00
LAA12
LAD42
MIA136
MIL42
MIN00
NYM154
NYY00
OAK03
PHI910
PIT43
SD43
SEA21
SF52
STL25
TB00
TEX21
TOR00
Totals9666
Nationals, 2014: month-by-month summary
Month Wins Losses NL East place
(at end)
Number of
home games
Total
attendance
Average
attendance
April 2014 16 12 2 (T) 17 491,404 28,906
May 2014 11 15 3 13 411,783 31,676
June 2014 17 11 2 11 362,128 32,921
July 2014 14 10 1 10 352,907 35,291
Aug. 2014 19 10 1 17 563,919 33,172
Sept. 2014 19 8 1 13 400,226 30,787
2014 96 66 1 81 2,582,367 31,881

SOURCE: My unofficial daily tabulations from MLB Gameday stats, Washington Post, and other newspapers.

Nats winning percentages

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