Nationals 101

I would suppose anyone who has stopped by my blog since May knows that I'm a pretty big fan of the Washington Nationals...and I now find myself at the end of the 2015 season.

So...here at the end of the season, I thought I'd share some Nationals 101...facts, figures and catchphrases that you're certain to hear anytime you're at Nationals Park. Enjoy!

Washington Nationals 101

Nationals Baseball - in the Nation's Capital

Abe - One of the Racing Presidents; the 16th President of our great nation. He's also the President most likely to win a race. He's won 253 races in his "career" so far.

Bat Hoarder - Clint Robinson; fill-in first baseman who wears the number 25. He's been known to smack the ball pretty well this season and is nicknamed "Bat Hoarder" because he collects...baseball bats!

Bill - One of the Racing Presidents; the 27th President of our great nation, William Howard Taft. It turns out Bill isn't so great at racing...he's only won 22 races in his "career"...although I guess that's pretty good for a man who weighed in at 340 pounds!

Clint "Bat Hoarder" Robinson returns to the dugout after smashing a homerun!

Bob & FP - Bob Carpenter and FP Santangelo; the MASN announcers for the Washington Nationals. Both have previous careers in baseball in some shape or form; Carpenter has been an announcer for the MLB since 1984 (good year) and Santangelo played baseball for the Montreal Expos, the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodger and the Oakland Athletics.

Bomb - Simply put, a homerun!

Buffalo - Wilson Ramos, the catcher who wears the number 40. Wilson has been nicknamed "the Buffalo" because of the way he runs the bases... At one of the games we went to, we were sitting next to some guys who had the best chant/cheer ever...and it went something like this: "B-U-F-F-A-L-O! Put it all together and you've got a buffalo! Whooo!" He's been the catcher for all 3 no-hitters in Washington Nationals history.

The Buffalo prepares to run the bases after smashing a bomb!

Calvin - One of the Racing Presidents, the 30th President of our great nation, Calvin Coolidge. Introduced in 2015, he hasn't been racing long but he's already won a few races. So far his count stands at 10 races won!

Curly W - A win for the Washington Nationals is called a Curly W. The curly W adorns any and all Washington Nationals merchandise...and if you're a fan, you hope it adorns the scoreboard on a nightly basis.

Desi Defense - When Ian Desmond (shortstop) makes an amazing play, it's almost always hashtagged on Twitter as #DesiDefense and that's a good thing!

Just Mr. Ian Desmond, showing off a little #DesiDefense!

En Fuego - On fire! When Ian Desmond hits a hot streak, the commentators like to mention that he's "en fuego".

Espi - The one and only, Mr. Danny Espinosa who wears the number 8...after this season, he should be the National's MVP. This guy has smashed homers and played just about every position known to man. Every time he's called up, he delivers and everybody loves Espi!

Espi returns to the dugout after hitting a bomb!

Face of the Franchise - That would be one Mr. Ryan Zimmerman; he's been with the Nationals since September of their debut season all the way back in 2005...but we'll get to more about Zim a little later!

George - One of the Racing Presidents, the 1st President of our great nation, George Washington. George has won a whopping 189 races and is in second place for most races won. George frequently calls on Martha to help him take out his opponents and win races!

Gio's Giant House Party - What games are referred to as when Gio Gonzalez, one of the pitchers who wears the number 47, is taking the mound. Gio considers himself the "mayor" of Nationals Park and loves to throw house parties. Gio has been a fairly solid pitcher for the Nationals; especially in 2015. Plus, he has a dog named Stitch that is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Gio warming up his moves for the house party!

Harper Flow - You know, essentially anything that Bryce Harper does is hashtagged with this on Instagram and Twitter. He speeds around the bases? #HarperFlow.... A picture of his helmet and batting glove? Protecting that #HarperFlow... What is it really related to? His hair! Y'all, his hair. It's a big deal.

The Harper Flow, under wraps in San Francisco...

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup - A celebration ritual that came with the acquisition of Max Scherzer; when you do something awesome that wins that game for the team, you aren't just getting doused with the contents of the Gatorade container...oh no. You're getting a full on Hershey's syrup bath, courtesy of Mad Max himself. Unless you're Mad Max and you just pitched a no-hitter...and then your teammates will help you out. Hershey's heard about it and helped them out....

Just a little chocolate topping to top off that no-hitter!

Horns Up - A battle cry that is yelled when Wilson Ramos (the Buffalo) smashes a homer.

K - Quite easily put, that's a strike.

Let Teddy Win - Teddy Roosevelt just can't catch a break in the President's Race; he has only won 44 races since the Racing President's debut in July of 2006. He won for the first time on October 3, 2012...but long before that, with the opening of Nationals Park in 2008 there came a fan-made campaign to "Let Teddy Win"...a campaign that is still holding strong today, even though Teddy still doesn't win a lot.

Like A Ross - A variation on the phrase "like a boss"; this is reserved for the Nationals rookie pitcher Joe Ross, who came aboard in 2015 and managed to pretty handily rack up strike after strike after strike. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of Joe Ross in the future.

Ross is boss - also a popular twitter hashtag for this guy.

Mad Max - A nickname for Cy Young winning pitcher, Max Scherzer. Max was signed with the Nationals in early 2015 for a $210 million/7 year contract; the most paid to a right handed pitcher in MLB history. The most notable physical aspect about Max Scherzer are his eyes; he has heterochromia and his decidedly different eyes give him an appearance that makes him look a little...mad...

He's also pretty good at pitching no-hitters...

Look deep into my eyes....

Moonshot - If someone hits a moonshot...they just homer'd. You know...they shot for the moon.

Mr. Walk-Off - None other than Ryan Zimmerman, also known as the Face of the Franchise. Ryan has been with the Nationals since their first season in 2005, wears the number 11 and has played third base and most recently, first base. His nickname is Mr. Walkoff due to his propensity to come through in late innings, specifically with walk off homeruns. He started the trend in June of 2006 and is still going strong...

Nattitude - the combination of National + Attitude = Nattitude. And you should showcase your Nattitude proudly!

No-No - A no-hitter. The first in Nationals history was pitched by Jordan Zimmermann on September 28, 2014 and the second in Nationals history followed on June 20, 2015, courtesy of Max Scherzer...who; not satisfied with one no-hitter in a season, followed up with his second on October 3, 2015 against the Mets. Max Scherzer is one of only 6 pitchers in the history of the MLB to pitch 2 no-hitters in one season.

Old Man Strength - This phrase is used frequently on Twitter and Instagram in reference to Center Fielder Denard Span; who wears the number 2. Denard Span only just turned 31 this year...so I don't know who they're calling old...but he is already displaying some gray in his beard...

High five for old man strength on display.

Racing Presidents - The live action Presidents Race made it's debut on July 21, 2006 and originally featured four presidents: Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and Roosevelt. The presidents race in the fourth inning and have added two to their number from the original four. Taft joined the races on Opening Day of 2013 and Calvin was added into the mix on July 3rd of 2015...the eve of his 143rd birthday.

Bill, Abe, George, Tom, Teddy & Calvin!

Spanning - Denard Span makes some pretty amazing catches...and when he does, he's just #spanning.

Steak - A home run...because there are many names for one of those.

Strasmas - Similar to Christmas, Strasmas is what happens when pitcher Stephen Strasburg takes the mound and proceeds to get back to back to back K's. When Stephen isn't hurt (which he seems to be more often than not...*sigh*) he's basically a beast on the mound and it's like Christmas every time he pitches...or should I say, it's like Strasmas.

Wind her up....& let her loose!

Tater - You know what goes well with steak? A tater! What goes good with a home run? Another home run! So, yes...a tater is also what you might call a home run.

Teddy -  One of the Racing Presidents, the 26th President of our great nation, Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy has won only 44 races and has the longest losing streak of all the presidents....but then, he also has his on fan club who rally at every race with "Let Teddy Win" campaign posters. Hilarious.

Tom - One of the Racing Presidents, the 3rd President of our great nation, Thomas Jefferson. Tom has won 113 races and is in third place for all time races won. Perhaps his head is weighing him down? Tom easily has the tallest head of all the presidents...

Tony Two Bags - Anthony Rendon, wearer of number 6 and routine second baseman, although he steps in at third from time to time. Tony earned the nickname Tony Two Bags because he doesn't just like to hit the ball...he likes to hit doubles. Sometimes if he's feeling especially fine, he'll go ahead and just round all four.

Sometimes he doubles up...& gets four bags.

Werthquake - When Jayson Werth steps up to the plate, gives the ball a rake and watches it fly out of the park...well, you've just experienced a werthquake. While they don't do any lasting damage, they can be hazardous to the opposing team and are considered a DC "weather" phenomenon.

He's just a little bit excited & wants you to be excited too.

WereWerth - Jayson Werth, left fielder who wears the number 28. He looks just a little like he might be they type to change form in the moonlight...but there isn't any documented evidence of this, ha-ha. He does use the song "Werewolves of London" as one of his walk up songs though...

Wilson - The catcher, the Buffalo...he uses the song "Wilson" by Phish as one of his walk-up songs. Even when he doesn't use that particular song, everyone in the stands join together to chant "Wiiilllsssooonnn" to the beat of the music in their heads.

Working the Walk - You work the walk when you keep your eye on the ball and take your base. As of this year, Bryce Harper broke the record for most walks in Nationals history.Walking might not be quite so glamarous as sending the baseball flying...but hey, it gets you on base.

Take your base...

Yard - When you "go yard"...you guessed it; you've hit a home run.

Yescobar - Nickname for the third baseman, Yunel Escobar who wears the number 5...and also something referenced when he does something awesome...like make an epic grab out of mid-air or smash a double and bring home a run (or two).

Zim/Zimm - That's right; there are two players on the Washington Nationals with the last name Zimmerman/n...and there's a big difference between the two; besides the face that one is named Ryan and one is named Jordan. Ryan wears the number 11, is the face of the franchise and well known as Mr. Walkoff. Jordan wears the number 27, pitches like a beast and can claim ownership of the first no-hitter in Nationals history. 

Zimmerman the first baseman...Zimmermann the pitcher. There's a difference.

So - there you have it. My Nationals 101/semi-alphabetic list. I hope you enjoyed it; I enjoyed writing it and I can't wait for the 2016 season....which will probably bring quite a few changes to this list. Don't worry though; I'll be sure to keep you updated. Whether you want to be updated or not. Ha-ha!