2009 Washington Nationals season


The Washington Nationals' 2009 season was the fifth season for the American baseball franchise of Major League Baseball in the District of Columbia, and the 41st since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It involved the Nationals attempting to win the National League East Division after a disappointing 59–102 season the year before.
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.

Offseason

On November 3, 2008, the Nationals traded minor-leaguer Ryan Buchter to the Chicago Cubs for minor-leaguer Matt Avery. On November 10, 2008, they traded Emilio Bonifacio and minor-leaguers Jake Smolinski and P. J. Dean to the Florida Marlins for Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham.

Changed uniforms

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. 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. The company who manufactured the jerseys, Majestic Athletic, apologized for the error.

Advertising and marketing

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.

Mascot

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."

Spring training

The Nationals held their 2009 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

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, second baseman Jeff Kobernus, shortstop Michael A. Taylor, pitcher Taylor Jordan, pitcher Nate Karns, and pitcher Marcus Stroman. Stroman opted not to sign with the team.

Roster

Attendance

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. 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.

Game log

Player stats

Batting

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
PosPlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBIAVGSB
CJosh Bard591851545130222.2430
PJoe Beimel390000000—0
2BRonnie Belliard71147183451314.2312
PJason Bergmann292000000.0000
OFRoger Bernadina34111000.2500
PDaniel Cabrera911000000.0000
MIAlex Cintrón2126120000.0770
PJesús Colomé140000000—0
PRoss Detwiler813110001.0770
RFElijah Dukes672302257151742.2482
UTAdam Dunn113392581102303085.2810
CJesús Flores2690132832415.3110
MIAlberto González661871950122123.2671
SSCristian Guzmán9539859127206540.3193
PJoel Hanrahan320000000—0
CFWillie Harris911963045133419.2309
2BAnderson Hernández77231255892123.2515
PMike Hinckley141000000.0000
1BNick Johnson9835347104162644.2952
RFAustin Kearns80174203462317.1951
PLogan Kensing162000000.0000
PJohn Lannan2242171000.1670
PWil Ledezma50000000—0
PMike MacDougal250000000—0
PShairon Martis1324451002.2080
CFJustin Maxwell1324131001.1253
CFLastings Milledge724140001.1671
PGarrett Mock189110000.1110
CWil Nieves47147133660016.2450
PScott Olsen1115120001.1330
OFCorey Patterson515020000.1330
PSaúl Rivera120000000—0
PSteven Shell40000000—0
PCraig Stammen1425152003.2000
PJulián Tavárez381000000.0000
PRon Villone370000000—0
PKip Wells230000000—0
LFJosh Willingham9028053852401846.3043
PJordan Zimmermann1527140002.1480
3BRyan Zimmerman110439851342612476.3051
Totals1625493710141627138156685.25873

Pitching

Table is sortable.
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
PosPlayerWLERAGGSSVIPRERBBK
RPJoe Beimel033.81280126.01111914
RPJason Bergmann016.91140014.1121178
Daniel Cabrera055.8598040.039263516
Jesús Colomé008.009009.08838
Ross Detwiler035.2366032.220191423
Joel Hanrahan036.35290528.120201232
Mike Hinckley004.6614009.255113
Logan Kensing0118.006005.0101042
SPJohn Lannan353.511313077.036303138
Wilfredo Ledezma009.535005.27648
SPShairon Martis514.761313075.242403429
CLMike MacDougal001.298007.04146
SPGarrett Mock026.92130013.0101086
Scott Olsen147.2488041.036331829
Saúl Rivera038.49100011.2111158
Steven Shell005.404005.03325
SPCraig Stammen025.8655027.22018913
RPJulián Tavárez244.26290125.116121624
Ron Villone341.83230019.2541010
Kip Wells026.26190223.016161516
SPJordan Zimmermann235.371010057.034341660
Totals591035.00162162331424.1874791629911

Team leaders

Qualifying players only.

Batting

StatPlayerTotal
Avg.Ryan Zimmerman.292
HRAdam Dunn38
RBIRyan Zimmerman106
RRyan Zimmerman110
HRyan Zimmerman178
SBNyjer Morgan24

Pitching

StatPlayerTotal
WJohn Lannan
Liván Hernández		9
LJohn Lannan13
ERAJohn Lannan3.88
SOJordan Zimmermann92
SVMike MacDougal20
IPJohn Lannan206.1

Awards and honors

All-Stars

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.
ClassTeamLeagueManagerRecordFinish
AAASyracuse ChiefsInternational LeagueTim Foli76–68.5282nd North Division
AAHarrisburg SenatorsEastern LeagueJohn Stearns70–72.4935th Southern Division
High APotomac NationalsCarolina LeagueTrent Jewett79–58.5772nd Northern Division
Low AHagerstown SunsSouth Atlantic LeagueMatthew LeCroy56–78.4188th Northern Division
Short Season AVermont Lake MonstersNew York–Penn LeagueJeff Garber34–41.4533rd Stedler Division
RookieGulf Coast League NationalsGulf Coast LeagueBob Henley36–19.6552nd East Division, Won Wild Card, Lost GCL Finals 2–0 to Gulf Coast League Marlins
RookieDSL NationalsDominican Summer LeagueJuan Benhardt29–42.40810th Boca Chica Division