2007 Washington Nationals season

2007 Washington Nationals
Major League affiliations
Location
  • Washington, D.C. (since 2005)
Other information
Owner(s) Lerner Enterprises
General manager(s) Jim Bowden
Manager(s) Manny Acta
Local television MASN
WDCA (My 20)
Bob Carpenter, Ray Knight, Don Sutton, Johnny Holliday
Local radio WTWP/WWWT
Charlie Slowes, Dave Jageler
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The Washington Nationals' 2007 season began with the team trying to win its first NL East title since moving to Washington. During the offseason, the team replaced manager Frank Robinson with former Montreal Expos coach Manny Acta. They lost several players through free agency and trades. The most notable of those are José Guillén, Ramón Ortiz, Alfonso Soriano, and José Vidro. The Nationals signed few major league free agents. Their most experienced free agent signing was Dmitri Young. Luis Ayala, Alex Escobar, Cristian Guzmán, Nick Johnson, Michael O'Connor and John Patterson are expected to return from season-ending injuries.

After losing four starters (Liván Hernández, Tony Armas, Ramón Ortiz and Pedro Astacio) from the prior year, the Nationals invited an extraordinary 36 pitchers to spring training.[1][2] By year's end, the team would become the first team in modern baseball (except for strike-shortened seasons) with no pitcher in double figures with wins or losses.[3]

The season was notable for it being the Nationals final year at RFK Stadium and for Dmitri Young winning Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award, marking the team's first annual award since moving to D.C.

Offseason

On December 18, 2006, the Nationals traded José Vidro and cash to the Seattle Mariners for Emiliano Fruto and Chris Snelling.[4]

Advertising and marketing

The 2007 season saw the Nationals′ first strategic marketing campaign since Lerner Enterprises purchased the team. It emphasized the upcoming opening of Nationals Park planned for 2008. The marketing slogan for the 2007 season was "Pledge Your Allegiance,"[5] a reference to the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States encouraging Nationals fans to show their loyalty to the team.

Spring training

The Nationals held their 2007 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium. They invited Danny Ardoin to spring training, but he did not make the team; they traded him to the Houston Astros for minor-leaguer Wade Robinson on March 26, 2007.[6]

Regular season

April

On Opening Day, the Nationals lost their starting shortstop (Cristian Guzmán, hamstring) and center fielder (Nook Logan) for five weeks. At the end of April, one of their starters, Jerome Williams hurt his ankle while batting and was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

May

In the space of just 10 days in May, Shawn Hill, John Patterson, and Jason Bergmann went on the disabled list. Jerome Williams returned, pitched one game, and went back on the DL with a shoulder injury. The Washington Post wrote: "Almost everything that could sink a team's attitude has befallen the Nats. They started the year 1-8, then they lost eight in a row to drop to 9-25."[7]

They pressed journeymen Mike Bacsik, Micah Bowie (a relief pitcher) and Jason Simontacchi, along with rookie reliever Levale Speigner into the starting rotation, amidst predictions that the 2007 Nationals might equal the 1962 Mets' record of futility, 120 losses in one season.[8]

After the team lost 8 straight games to sink to 9-25, the Nats won 11 of 15, mostly with patchwork starting pitching and timely hitting. and the return of Cristian Guzmán, who was hitting .343 by the end of May.

June

In June, the Nationals have been led by key hits by Dmitri Young, Cristian Guzmán and the power hitting of Ryan Zimmerman. But towards the end of the month, Guzman, hitting .329, was injured and lost for the season, and, following the injury, the Nationals lost 9 of their next 11 games.

July

Dmitri Young, hitting .339 (third in the league) and slugging .512, was selected as the lone Nationals' representative in the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Despite rumors that the Nationals were seeking to trade Ronnie Belliard, Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch and Young, the Nationals did not make any major trades before the non-waiver trade deadline.[9][10]

Season standings

National League East

NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Phillies 89 73 0.549 — 47–34 42–39
New York Mets 88 74 0.543 1 41–40 47–34
Atlanta Braves 84 78 0.519 5 44–37 40–41
Washington Nationals 73 89 0.451 16 40–41 33–48
Florida Marlins 71 91 0.438 18 36–45 35–46

Record vs. opponents

2007 National League Records

Source:
Team ARI ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL WSH AL
Arizona — 4–2 4–2 2–4 8–10 6–1 5–2 8–10 2–5 3–4 5–1 5–4 10–8 10–8 4–3 6–1 8–7
Atlanta 2–4 — 5–4 1–6 4–2 10–8 3–3 4–3 5–2 9–9 9–9 5–1 5–2 4–3 3–4 11–7 4–11
Chicago 2–4 4–5 — 9–9 5–2 0–6 8–7 2–5 9–6 2–5 3–4 8–7 3–5 5–2 11–5 6–1 8–4
Cincinnati 4–2 6–1 9–9 — 2–4 4–3 4–11 2–4 8–7 2–5 2–4 9–7 2–4 4–3 6–9 1–6 7-11
Colorado 10–8 2–4 2–5 4–2 — 3–3 3–4 12–6 4–2 4–2 4–3 4–3 11–8 10–8 3–4 4–3 10–8
Florida 1–6 8–10 6–0 3–4 3–3 — 2–3 4–3 2–5 7–11 9–9 3–4 3–4 1–6 2–4 8–10 9–9
Houston 2–5 3–3 7–8 11–4 4–3 3-2 — 4–3 5–13 2–5 3–3 5–10 4–3 2–4 7–9 2–5 9–9
Los Angeles 10–8 3–4 5–2 4–2 6–12 3–4 3–4 — 3–3 5–5 4–2 5–2 8–10 10–8 3–3 5–1 5–10
Milwaukee 5–2 2–5 6–9 7–8 2–4 5–2 13–5 3–3 — 2–4 3–4 10–6 2–5 4–5 7–8 4–2 8–7
New York 4–3 9–9 5–2 5–2 2–4 11–7 5–2 5–5 4–2 — 6–12 4–2 2–4 4–2 5–2 9–9 8–7
Philadelphia 1-5 9–9 4–3 4–2 3–4 9–9 3–3 2–4 4–3 12–6 — 4–2 4–3 4–4 6–3 12–6 8–7
Pittsburgh 4–5 1–5 7–8 7–9 3–4 4–3 10–5 2–5 6–10 2–4 2–4 — 1–6 4–2 6–12 4–2 5–10
San Diego 8–10 2–5 5–3 4–2 8–11 4–3 3–4 10–8 5–2 4–2 3–4 6–1 — 14–4 3–4 4–2 6–9
San Francisco 8–10 3–4 2–5 3–4 8–10 6–1 4–2 8–10 5–4 2–4 4–4 2–4 4–14 — 4–1 3–4 5–10
St. Louis 3–4 4–3 5–11 9–6 4–3 4-2 9–7 3–3 8–7 2–5 3–6 12–6 4–3 1–4 — 1–5 6–9
Washington 1–6 7–11 1–6 6–1 3–4 10-8 5–2 1–5 2–4 9–9 6–12 2–4 2–4 4–3 5–1 — 9–9

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
Name Position
Felipe López Second baseman
Cristian Guzmán Shortstop
Ryan Zimmerman Third baseman
Austin Kearns Right fielder
Dmitri Young First baseman
Brian Schneider Catcher
Ryan Church Left fielder
Nook Logan Center fielder
John Patterson Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

Draft

The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 7 and 8. With their first pick – the sixth pick overall – the Nationals selected pitcher Ross Detwiler. Other notable players the Nationals selected were pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (second round, 67th overall), left fielder-third baseman Jake Smolinski (second round, 70th overall), third baseman Steven Souza, Jr. (third round, 100th overall), catcher Derek Norris (fourth round, 130th overall), and pitcher Pat McCoy (10th round, 310th overall).[19]

Roster

2007 Washington Nationals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

Attendance

The Nationals drew 1,943,812 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 2007, placing them 14th in attendance for the season among the 16 National League teams.[20]

Game log

2007 Game Log
April (9-17)
May (13-15)
June (10-16)
July (14-12)
August (12-17)
September (15-12)

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

Complete offensive statistics are available here.

Pos Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB
C Schneider, BrianBrian Schneider 129 408 33 96 21 1 6 54 .235 0
1B Young, DmitriDmitri Young 136 460 57 147 38 1 13 74 .320 0
2B Belliard, RonnieRonnie Belliard 147 511 57 148 35 1 11 58 .290 3
SS López, FelipeFelipe López 154 603 70 148 25 6 9 50 .245 24
3B Zimmerman, RyanRyan Zimmerman 162 653 99 174 43 5 24 91 .266 4
LF Church, RyanRyan Church 144 470 57 128 43 1 15 70 .272 3
CF Logan, NookNook Logan 118 325 39 86 18 4 0 21 .265 23
RF Kearns, AustinAustin Kearns 161 587 84 156 35 1 16 74 .266 2
RF Fick, RobertRobert Fick 118 197 24 46 6 1 2 16 .234 0
C Flores, JesusJesus Flores 79 180 21 44 9 0 4 25 .244 0
SS Guzmán, ChristianChristian Guzmán 46 174 31 57 6 6 2 14 .328 2
CF Langerhans, RyanRyan Langerhans 103 162 24 32 6 2 6 22 .198 3
LF Peña, Wily MoWily Mo Peña 37 133 24 39 4 0 8 22 .293 2
IF Jiménez, D'AngeloD'Angelo Jiménez 73 102 14 25 7 0 2 10 .245 2
1B Batista, TonyTony Batista 80 101 10 26 3 0 2 16 .257 0
LF Snelling, ChrisChris Snelling 24 49 6 10 1 1 1 7 .204 0
UT Casto, KoryKory Casto 16 54 1 7 2 0 0 3 .130 0
OF Restovich, MichaelMichael Restovich 15 28 0 4 1 0 0 1 .143 0
OF Maxwell, JustinJustin Maxwell 15 26 5 7 0 0 2 5 .269 0
SS Wilson, JoshJosh Wilson 15 19 3 1 0 0 0 0 .053 0
OF Watson, BrandonBrandon Watson 5 18 2 5 1 0 0 2 .278 1
P Chico, MattMatt Chico 31 48 1 8 0 0 0 3 .167 0
P Bergmann, JasonJason Bergmann 22 37 2 5 0 0 0 0 .135 0
P Hill, ShawnShawn Hill 16 26 2 2 0 0 0 0 .077 0
P Bacsik, MikeMike Bacsik 29 29 1 3 1 0 0 1 .103 0
P Redding, TimTim Redding 15 28 1 2 1 0 0 2 .071 0
P Simontacchi, JasonJason Simontacchi 13 19 1 1 0 0 0 0 .053 0
P Hanrahan, JoelJoel Hanrahan 12 14 3 4 2 1 0 3 .286 0
P Lannan, JohnJohn Lannan 6 13 1 2 1 0 0 1 .154 0
P Bowie, MicahMicah Bowie 30 11 0 1 0 0 0 1 .091 0
P Patterson, JohnJohn Patterson 7 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Williams, JeromeJerome Williams 6 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 .143 0
P Speigner, LevaleLevale Speigner 19 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Traber, BillyBilly Traber 28 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Rauch, JonJon Rauch 88 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Rivera, SaúlSaúl Rivera 85 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Abreu, WinstonWinston Abreu 26 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Schroder, ChrisChris Schroder 37 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Cordero, ChadChad Cordero 76 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Colomé, JesúsJesús Colomé 61 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
P Booker, ChrisChris Booker 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
P Detwiler, RossRoss Detwiler 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
P Muñoz, ArnieArnie Muñoz 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
P Albaladejo, JonathanJonathan Albaladejo 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
P Wagner, RyanRyan Wagner 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
P Ayala, LuisLuis Ayala 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
P King, RayRay King 55 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
Totals 162 5520 673 1415 309 31 123 646 .256 69

Pitching

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

Complete pitching statistics are available here.

Pos Player W L ERA G GS SV IP R ER BB K
SP Chico, MattMatt Chico 7 9 4.63 31 31 0 167.0 96 86 74 94
SP Bacsik, MikeMike Bacsik 5 8 5.11 29 20 0 118.0 73 67 29 45
SP Bergmann, JasonJason Bergmann 6 6 4.45 21 21 0 115.1 59 57 42 86
SP Hill, ShawnShawn Hill 4 5 3.42 16 16 0 97.1 42 37 25 65
SP Redding, TimTim Redding 3 6 3.64 15 15 0 84.0 35 34 38 47
SP Simontacchi, JasonJason Simontacchi 6 7 6.37 13 13 0 70.2 53 50 23 42
CL Cordero, ChadChad Cordero 3 3 3.36 76 0 37 75.0 31 28 29 62
RP Rivera, SaúlSaúl Rivera 4 6 3.68 85 0 3 93.0 39 38 42 64
RP Rauch, JonJon Rauch 8 4 3.61 88 0 4 87.1 37 35 21 71
RP Colomé, JesúsJesús Colomé 5 1 3.82 61 0 1 66.0 30 28 27 43
RP King, RayRay King 1 1 4.54 55 0 0 33.2 17 17 18 18
Bowie, MicahMicah Bowie 4 3 4.55 30 8 0 57.1 30 29 27 42
Hanrahan, JoelJoel Hanrahan 5 3 6.00 12 11 0 51.0 35 34 38 43
Schroder, ChrisChris Schroder 2 3 3.18 37 0 0 45.1 19 16 15 43
Ayala, LuisLuis Ayala 2 2 3.19 44 0 1 42.1 16 15 12 28
Speigner, LevaleLevale Speigner 2 3 8.78 19 6 0 40.0 39 39 23 19
Traber, BillyBilly Traber 2 2 4.76 28 2 0 39.2 22 21 13 27
Lannan, JohnJohn Lannan 2 2 4.15 6 6 0 34.2 17 16 17 10
Patterson, JohnJohn Patterson 1 5 7.47 7 7 0 31.1 26 26 22 15
Abreu, WinstonWinston Abreu 0 1 5.93 26 0 0 30.1 21 20 9 26
Williams, JeromeJerome Williams 0 5 7.20 6 6 0 30.0 26 24 18 15
Wagner, RyanRyan Wagner 0 2 5.74 14 0 0 15.2 11 10 8 9
Albaladejo, JonathanJonathan Albaladejo 1 1 1.88 14 0 0 14.1 3 3 2 12
Muñoz, ArnieArnie Muñoz 0 0 6.75 13 0 0 5.1 4 4 7 3
Booker, ChrisChris Booker 0 1 18.00 3 0 0 1.0 2 2 1 1
Detwiler, RossRoss Detwiler 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 1
Totals 73 89 4.58 162 162 46 1446.2 783 736 580 931

Team leaders

Qualifying players only.

Batting

Stat Player Total
Avg. Dmitri Young .320
HR Ryan Zimmerman 24
RBI Ryan Zimmerman 110
R Ryan Zimmerman 91
H Ryan Zimmerman 174
SB Felipe López 24

Pitching

Stat Player Total
W Jon Rauch 8
L Matt Chico 9
ERA Matt Chico 4.63
SO Matt Chico 94
SV Chad Cordero 37
IP Matt Chico 167.0

Awards and honors

All-Stars

Annual awards

Records and firsts

The 2007 Nationals became the first team in modern baseball (1901–present) to trail 4-0 in each of their first six games.[21] as well as the first to not score during the first three innings of each of their first ten games.[22]

The 2007 Nationals also set the National League record for not scoring a run in the first inning of their first 22 games.[23]

On August 7, 2007, in a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik gave up career home run number 756 to Barry Bonds, who broke a 33-year-old record previously held by Hank Aaron.[24]

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Columbus Clippers International League John Stearns
AA Harrisburg Senators Eastern League Scott Little
A Potomac Nationals Carolina League Randy Knorr
A Hagerstown Suns South Atlantic League Tom Herr
A-Short Season Vermont Lake Monsters New York–Penn League Darnell Coles
Rookie GCL Nationals Gulf Coast League Bob Henley

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 Washington Nationals season.
  • Game Logs:
1st Half: Washington Nationals Game Log on ESPN.com
2nd Half: Washington Nationals Game Log on ESPN.com
  1. ↑ Thomas Boswell (March 7, 2007). "Nats' Starting Pitching Could Be a Real Problem". The Washington Post. p. E03.
  2. ↑ Barry Svrluga (February 26, 2007). "Nats' St. Claire Knows the Task at Hand". Washington Post. p. E01.
  3. ↑ Campbell, Rich (October 1, 2007). "Down Bergmann up in team plans". The Free Lance-Star, p. B7.
  4. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Seattle Mariners
  5. ↑ Anonymous, "Washington Nationals announce White & Partners as 2007 marketing partner," Washington Nationals press release, November 28, 2006, 2:07 p.m EST.
  6. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Houston Astros
  7. ↑ Thomas Boswell (June 4, 2007). "Nationals Are Managing Just Fine With Acta". The Washington Post. p. E01.
  8. ↑ Linton Weeks (May 8, 2007). "Baseball Most Foul: The Nats Reinvent Bad". Washington Post. p. C01.
  9. ↑ Ladson, Bill (July 31, 2007). "Nats let deadline pass without a deal". Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  10. ↑ Ladson, Bill (July 19, 2007). "Cordero, Rauch focus of trade rumors". Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  11. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Philadelphia Phillies
  12. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & San Diego Padres
  13. 1 2 baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Oakland Athletics
  14. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Detroit Tigers
  15. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Minnesota Twins
  16. 1 2 baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Boston Red Sox
  17. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Arizona Diamondbacks
  18. ↑ baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Milwaukee Brewers
  19. ↑ baseball-reference.com 2007 Washington Nationals Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft
  20. ↑ baseball-reference.com 2007 Washington Nationals
  21. ↑ Jacobson, Todd (April 8, 2007). "D-backs tee off on Patterson". The Free Lance-Star, p. B7.
  22. ↑ Blum, Ronald (April 14, 2007). "Nats flirt with two in a row". The Free Lance-Star, p. B10
  23. ↑ Jacobson, Todd (April 30, 2007). "Finally, Nationals get started early". The Free Lance-Star, p. C1.
  24. ↑ The Official Site of The Washington Nationals: News: Nationals watch record with wonder
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