The
Washington Nationals:
Annual History *

2012: "Natitude!": Harper sparks drive to NL East title

Everything finally came together for the Nationals in 2012. In spite of injuries to several key players, they finished April in first place, and kept that position for virtually the entire season. Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann were joined by another All-Star caliber pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, who finished the season with a league-best 21-8 record. After rookie slugger Bryce Harper and Michael Morse joined the lineup, the Nationals became an offensive powerhouse as well. By August they had the best win-loss record in the majors, and that's how they finished the season, at 98-64. The first baseball postseason in Washington since 1933 had some thrilling moments, and the Nats came within one strike of winning Game 5 of the divisional series, but the defending World Champion Cardinals mounted an improbable comeback to win. "Wait till next year!"

Usual starting positions, 2012

CF: Bryce Harper * .270 Rick Ankiel

LF: Michael Morse # .291 Steve Lombardozzi *

RF: Jayson Werth # .300 Bryce Harper

SS: Ian Desmond #.292 Danny Espinosa

2B: Danny Espinosa .247 Steve Lombardozzi

3B: Ryan Zimmerman .282

PITCHING ROTATION Stephen Strasburg 3.16 Gio Gonzalez * 2.89 Jordan Zimmermann 2.94 Edwin Jackson * 4.03 Ross Detwiler 3.40 Tyler Clippard (closer) 3.72

1B: Adam LaRoche .271

Batting average for position players, ERA for pitchers. Manager: Davey Johnson

C: Jesus Flores .213 Kurt Suzuki

* (asterisk): new player;   # : month+ off due to injury

New contracts of note

• Ryan Zimmerman -- 6 years, $100 million (Feb.)

"+" = bonus incentives for salary, or optional extension (mutual or otherwise) for contract length. "D" = part of salary is deferred. "AE" = arbitration eligible. "FA" = free agent signing. Dollar figures are rounded.

Nationals, 2012: best batting and pitching records

Batting average		Home runs		RBIs		ERA		Wins		Strikeouts
Ian Desmond	.292	Adam LaRoche	33	Adam LaRoche	100	Gio Gonzalez	2.89	Gio Gonzalez	21	Gio Gonzalez	207

Only qualifying players are included in this table.

Nationals' head-to-head matchups, 2012

Opponent	Wins	Losses
ARI	4	2
ATL	10	8
BAL	2	4
BOS	3	0
CHC	6	1
CHW	0	0
CIN	5	2
CLE	0	0
COL	3	4
DET	0	0
HOU	7	1
KCR	0	0
LAA	0	0
LAD	2	4
MIA	9	9
MIL	5	3
MIN	0	0
NYM	14	4
NYY	0	3
OAK	0	0
PHI	9	9
PIT	2	3
SDP	3	2
SFG	5	1
STL	4	3
SEA	0	0
TBR	2	1
TEX	0	0
TOR	3	0
Total	98	64
(Regular season games only.)

2012 memorable moments

• May 13 -- Joey Votto walk-off grand slam, Reds win 9-6; H. Rod. blown save. @
• May 14 -- Bryce Harper's first home run, Nats beat Padres 8-5.
• May 20 -- Stephen Strasburg's first home run, Nats beat Orioles 9-3.
• May 27 -- Nats complete sweep of Braves, on ESPN-TV; Harper's 4th HR. @
• June 5 -- Bryce Harper GW RBI in 12th inning; Nats 7, Mets 6.
• June 16 -- Ump calls Tyler Moore out at home in 8th; Yanks win 5-3 in 14 inn.
• June 28 -- Rockies up 7-0 in 2nd; Nats come back but lose 11-10 in 11th inn.
• July 20 -- Nats blow 9-0 lead, lose to Braves 11-10 in 11 innings.
• July 29 -- Nats catch up in 9th inning, beat Brewers 11-10 in 11 innings. @
• Aug. 13 -- Nats score 7 runs in 3rd inning, beat Giants 14-2. @
• Aug. 20 -- Nats score 4 runs in 1st inning, beat Braves 5-4 in 13 innings. (?!)
• Aug. 31 -- Nats beat Cardinals 10-0; complete game shutout by Gio Gonzalez.
• Sept. 4,5 -- Nationals hit six home runs in two consecutive days!
• Sept. 8 -- Jayson Werth 9th inn. HR; Nats beat Marlins 7-6 in 10 inn. I was there!
• Sept. 22 -- Gio Gonzalez gets his 20th win; Nats beat Brewers 10-4. I was there!
• Oct. 11 -- Jayson Werth 9th inn. HR; Nats beat Cards 2-1 in NLDS Game 4.
• Oct. 12 -- Nats take 6-0 lead, Cards get 4 in 9th and win 9-7 in NLDS Game 5.

"@" = away game

Nationals, 2012: month-by-month summary

Month	Wins	Losses	NL East place (at end)	Number of home games	Total attendance	Average attendance
April 2012	14	8	1st	10	247,115	24,712
May 2012	15	13	1st	13	381,500	29,346
June 2012	15	11	1st	11	373,781	33,980
July 2012	17	9	1st	14	447,113	31,937
Aug. 2012	19	10	1st	14	397,157	28,368
Sept. 2012 *	17	13	1st	19	523,630	27,559
2012	98	64	1st	81	2,370,294	30,004 ^
Oct. 2012 **	2	3	(NLDS)	3	135,375	45,125
2012 +	100	67	-	84	2,505,669	30,557 ^
* (Including regular season games in October.) ** (Postseason games only.) ^ (excluding two rain-postponed double-headers) SOURCE: My unofficial daily tabulations from MLB Gameday stats, Washington Post, and other newspapers.