* This interactive Web page presents detailed year-by-year historical data that were formerly displayed altogether on the 
Washington Nationals photos2007: Rebuilding the team, building the new stadium
The Nationals began their third year with lower expectations, as the new owners made it clear that they were focusing on rebuilding the franchise's decrepit farm system. It was pretty ugly early in the season, but from mid-May on, the Nats played very respectably. The biggest surprise was that the pitching rotation performed well above expectations. Dmitri Young, filling in for first baseman Nick Johnson (recovering from a broken leg), was leading in the NL batting race for several weeks, and was named the NL Comeback Player of the Year. For the first time the Nats finished the season out of the cellar, three games ahead of the Marlins. Meanwhile, construction of the new baseball stadium neared completion.
| CF: Ryan Church .272 | ||||||||||||
| LF: Nook Logan * .265 Ryan Church |
RF: Austin Kearns .266 | |||||||||||
| SS: Felipe Lopez .245 | 2B: Ronnie Belliard * .290 | |||||||||||
| 3B: Ryan Zimmerman .266 | 1B: Dmitri Young * .320 | |||||||||||
| Batting average for position players, ERA for pitchers. Manager: Manny Acta |
C: Brian Schneider .235 | * (asterisk): new player | ||||||||||
| Opponent | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| ARI | 1 | 6 |
| ATL | 7 | 11 |
| BAL | 4 | 2 |
| BOS | 0 | 0 |
| CHC | 1 | 6 |
| CHW | 0 | 0 |
| CIN | 6 | 1 |
| CLE | 2 | 1 |
| COL | 3 | 4 |
| DET | 0 | 3 |
| HOU | 5 | 2 |
| KC | 0 | 0 |
| LAA | 0 | 0 |
| LAD | 1 | 5 |
| FLA | 10 | 8 |
| MIL | 2 | 4 |
| MIN | 2 | 1 |
| NYM | 9 | 9 |
| NYY | 0 | 0 |
| OAK | 0 | 0 |
| PHI | 6 | 12 |
| PIT | 2 | 4 |
| SD | 2 | 4 |
| SEA | 0 | 0 |
| SF | 4 | 3 |
| STL | 5 | 1 |
| TB | 0 | 0 |
| TEX | 0 | 0 |
| TOR | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 73 | 89 |
- Apr. 4 -- Dmitri Young game-winning RBI, as Marlins left fielder lets ball drop.
- May 12 -- Zimmerman grand slam in bottom of 9th; Nats beat Marlins 7-3.
- May 14 -- Jason Bergman allowed no hits for 7 innings; Nats beat Braves 2-1.
- May 23 -- Ryan Church hit two HRs, six RBI; Nats beat Reds 12-7. @
- July 4 -- Dmitri Young grand slam; Nats beat Cubs 6-0.
- Aug. 4 -- Zimmerman hit two HRs; Nats beat Cards 12-1. (I was there!)
- Aug. 7 -- Barry Bonds 756th HR off Scott Bacsik; Nats beat Giants 8-6. @
- Aug. 11 -- Nats hit 3 HRs in 6th inning, but lose to D-backs 11-4. @
- Sep. 22 -- Last night game in RFK; Phillies beat Nats, 4-1. (I was there!)
- Sep. 23 -- 40,519 fans at last game in RFK Stadium; Nats beat Phillies, 5-3.
- Sep. 26 -- Nats win 3-game sweep Mets, who fall into 2nd place. @
2007 memorable moments
"@" = away game
| Month | Wins | Losses | NL East place (at end) |
Number of home games |
Total attendance |
Average attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2007 | 9 | 17 | 5th | 14 | 299,157 | 21,368 |
| May 2007 | 13 | 15 | 5th | 13 | 291,959 | 22,458 |
| June 2007 | 10 | 16 | 5th | 12 | 295,414 | 24,618 |
| July 2007 | 14 | 12 | 5th | 15 | 373,953 | 24,930 |
| Aug. 2007 | 12 | 17 | 4th | 12 | 338,973 | 28,248 |
| Sept.* 2007 | 15 | 12 | 4th | 15 | 362,373 | 24,158 |
| 2007 TOTAL | 73 | 89 | 4th | 81 | 1,961,739 | 24,219 |
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SOURCE: My unofficial daily tabulations from MLB Gameday stats, Washington Post, and other newspapers.
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