On July 12, manager Manny Acta was fired and replaced with bench coach Jim Riggleman, though only as an interim manager. Under Acta, the Nationals compiled an MLB worst 26–61 record in 2009 through the All-Star break and a 158–252 record in Acta's three seasons with the Nationals. Riggleman would be named full-time manager in November 2009.
The Nationals finished the year with a 59–103 record, worse than the year before by one loss. For the second straight season, they finished with the worst record in Major League Baseball.
Nationals' third baseman Ryan Zimmerman won a Gold Glove Award as the best defensive third baseman in the National League and a Silver Slugger Award as the best offensive third baseman in the league. It would be the final season the Nationals lost a hundred games for 13 years.
For the 2009 season, the Nationals altered their uniforms. The interlocking "DC" was removed from the star-spangled circle and moved to the left sleeve of both the home and away uniforms. It also has removed from the alternate red jersey and replaced with the "curly W" from the team's cap. A new navy alternate jersey with the interlocked "DC" on the left chest in a "stars and stripes" flag pattern, which has also been emulated on the alternate navy cap, which was worn several times in 2009. Finally, in a tribute to the former baseball teams in the District of Columbia, a script writing of the city name replaced the block lettering, emulating the Senators' script of the 1950s and 1960s – though as those teams used "Senators" on both their home and away uniforms, this marks the first time the "curly W" has actually appeared as part of the word "Washington" on an MLB jersey.
The uniforms gained notoriety when on April 17 in a game against the Florida Marlins, the jerseys of Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn read "Natinals" on the front of the jersey instead of "Nationals" for the first three innings of the game.[3] The Nationals did not catch the error as they only checked the back of the shirts, not the front, but were able to assign to Dunn and Zimmerman the correct jerseys later in the game.[4] The company who manufactured the jerseys, Majestic Athletic, apologized for the error.
Advertising and marketingedit
The Nationals′ marketing and advertising theme for the 2009 season was "Natstown," capturing the idea that all Nationals fans at the ballpark, in the community, and in their everyday lives were participating in a single community centered around the team. The marketing campaign urged fans to "Get Your Red On," a reference to wearing the team's colors to show one's team spirit.[5]
Mascotedit
In March 2009, the Nationals introduced a new version of Screech, their bald eagle mascot who wears the home cap and jersey of the team. The original Screech who "hatched" at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 2005 during the third home game in Nationals history and had appeared at the team's home games during its first four seasons in Washington, was chubby, but the new Screech was slim. The Nationals explained that they had redesigned Screech because he had "grown up" and become a "teenager."[6]
Washington
5-1
8-10
2-5
4-3
0-6
6-12
3-3
2-3
3-5
8-10
3-15
3-5
2-4
2-4
1-6
–
7–11
Nationals vs. American League
Team
AL East
BAL
BOS
NYY
TBR
TOR
Washington
2-4
1-2
2-1
0-3
1–2
Opening Day lineup
edit
August 31, 2009: The Nationals traded Ronnie Belliard to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor-leaguer Luis Garcia and a player to be named later. The Dodgers sent minor-leaguer Víctor Gárate to the Nationals on September 2, 2009, to complete the trade.[13]
The 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place from June 9 to June 11. With their first pick – the first pick overall – the Nationals selected pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Other notable players the Nationals selected were pitcher Drew Storen (10th overall, a first-round supplemental pick they received for failing to sign Aaron Crow in 2008), second baseman Jeff Kobernus (second round, 50th overall), shortstop Michael A. Taylor (sixth round, 172nd overall), pitcher Taylor Jordan (ninth round, 262nd overall), pitcher Nate Karns (12th round, 352nd overall), and pitcher Marcus Stroman (18th round, 532nd overall).[14] Stroman opted not to sign with the team.
Finishing with the worst record in Major League Baseball for the second consecutive year, the Nationals drew only 1,817,226 fans at Nationals Park in 2009, placing them 13th in attendance among the 16 National League teams for the second year in a row. It was the lowest attendance total in their short history in Washington.[15] Their highest attendance at a home game was on April 5, when they drew 41,290 for a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day, while their lowest was 10,999 for a game against the Houston Astros on September 20. Their average home attendance was 22,716 per game, their lowest since arriving in Washington in 2005, but slightly higher than their average the following season.[16]
Note: Pos = Position; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
The future for the Nationals seemed to show promise in 2009 with their Gulf Coast League affiliate qualifying for the playoffs. The significance of this to the 2009 Major League team was that it demonstrated that the team was attempting to improve on its performance and had the prospects to do so.
^The two games on June 4 were played as a single-admission doubleheader with attendance counted only for the two games combined.
Referencesedit
^"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & Chicago Cubs - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^ abc"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & Miami Marlins - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"Company apologizes for 'Natinals' jersey error". ESPN.com. April 22, 2009.
^"Meet your new MLB team: The Washington Natinals". Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
^"Anonymous, "Washington Nationals invite Nationals fans to visit NatsTown and get your red on," Washington Nationals press release, February 5, 2009, 11:47 AM EST".
^Steinberg, Dan, "About Screech's Unveiling", washingtonpost.com, March 2, 2009
^"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & San Diego Padres - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^ ab"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & Seattle Mariners - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & Pittsburgh Pirates - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & Colorado Rockies - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & Chicago White Sox - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & New York Mets - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"Find Franchise Trade History between Washington Nationals & Los Angeles Dodgers - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"2009 Washington Nationals Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"2009 Washington Nationals Schedule - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^"Washington Nationals Attendance Records (1969 - 2018) by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2009 Washington Nationals season.
2009 Washington Nationals Season Official Site
2009 Washington Nationals season at Baseball Reference