“We weren’t eliminated, we chose to leave. It’s a mutual thing” “Mentally, I’m in October 2019” - Washington Nationals fans react to team’s official elimination from playoff contention

The Washington Nationals officially became the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention this season. The team had a colossal meltdown in yesterday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Nats were leading 5-1 before the Cards rallied for five runs in the ninth with the latter's Tommy Edman walking it off with a two-RBI double. Washington's record now stands at 48-89, making it mathematically impossible for them to be included in the playoffs.

The organization, who made one of the most epic runs to a World Series title just a few years ago, are now just a shell of their former selves. The Washington Nationals overcame the odds in 2019 to win it all but have failed to keep the momentum going as the years passed.

The organization sold key pieces such as Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer, Juan Soto, Trea Turner, and Anthony Rendon. Not only are the players on the team auctioned off to other teams, but the baseball club itself is rumored to be up for sale.

The Lerner family has owned the franchise since 2006 and it looks like they will be selling it in the near future.

Washington Nationals' poor 2022 campaign

Despite their abyssmal record, the Washington Nationals are actually a decent hitting side. The team is batting .250 as a collective, but what makes their stats iffy is their RBI numbers. They've just batted in 499 runs this season, the fifth-least in the league.

What contributed to the Nationals' downfall was their pitching. They are the second worst team in terms of ERA at 5.02. Opposition teams are hitting .264 off Nationals pitchers and they've given up the most homers by any pitching staff at 202 - 22 more than the next worst team.

As of now, it seems that there is no light at the end of the tunnel for the organization. Presently, they can just try and develop their prospects and young studs for the future. Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, and CJ Abrams look primed to be stars in the league as long as they're given the proper guidance and training.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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