* This interactive Web page presents detailed year-by-year historical data that were formerly displayed altogether on the 
Washington Nationals photos2017: Small roster tweaks, big hopes dashed once again
The Nationals had two major roster vacancies to fill during the 2016-2017 off-season. In center field, Adam Eaton (formerly of the White Sox) took the place of Ben Revere, while behind home plate, Matt Wieters -- (formerly of the Orioles) -- replaced Wilson Ramos. Adam Lind essentially replaced Clint Robinson as a reserve player, and got many clutch RBIs. The Nats had a record-setting first month, with Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, and other players putting up spectacular numbers. However, Adam Eaton suffered a bad knee injury late in April, and missed the rest of the season. Trea Turner set records with base stealing, but broke his wrist in late June and missed two full months. The pitching rotation was virtually the same, and Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Gio Gonzalez all finished the season with ERAs below 3.00. But repeated blown saves by the shaky bullpen hurt morale, and overall performance fizzled during June. In late July, the Nats acquired three veteran relief pitchers (Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle, and Brandon Kintzler), just as their starting rotation was hit by a series of injuries. Bryce Harper injured his knee in mid-August and did not return until late September. For the fourth time in the past six years, the Nationals won the NL East Division but once again were ousted in the NLDS, this time to the Chicago Cubs. The team's premature exit from the postseason convinced the team owners that a new manager was needed, and Dusty Baker's contract was allowed to expire.
| CF: Michael A. Taylor .271 Adam Eaton * |
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| LF: Jayson Werth .226 Brian Goodwin |
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RF: Bryce Harper .319 | ||||||||||
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| SS: Trea Turner .284 Wilmer Difo |
2B: Daniel Murphy .322 | |||||||||||
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| 3B: Anthony Rendon .301 | 1B: Ryan Zimmerman .303 Adam Lind |
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| C: Matt Wieters * .225 Jose Lobaton |
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| Batting average for position players, ERA for pitchers. Manager: Dusty Baker |
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* (asterisk): new player; | ||||||||||
- Adam Eaton (trade with CHW) -- 3 more years, $18.4 million (Dec.)
- Bryce Harper (AE) -- 1 year, $13.6 million (Jan.)
- Tanner Roark (AE) -- 1 year, $4.3 million (Jan.)
- Derek Norris (AE) -- 1 year, $4.2 million (Jan.)
- Anthony Rendon (AE) -- 1 year, $5.8 million (Jan.)
New contracts of note
"+" = 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.
| Opponent | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| ARI | 4 | 2 |
| ATL | 10 | 9 |
| BAL | 2 | 2 |
| BOS | 0 | 0 |
| CHC | 4 | 3 |
| CHW | 0 | 0 |
| CIN | 6 | 1 |
| CLE | 0 | 0 |
| COL | 4 | 3 |
| DET | 0 | 0 |
| HOU | 2 | 1 |
| KC | 0 | 0 |
| LAA | 2 | 2 |
| LAD | 3 | 3 |
| MIA | 13 | 6 |
| MIL | 3 | 4 |
| MIN | 0 | 0 |
| NYM | 13 | 6 |
| NYY | 0 | 0 |
| OAK | 2 | 1 |
| PHI | 11 | 8 |
| PIT | 3 | 4 |
| SD | 5 | 2 |
| SEA | 2 | 1 |
| SF | 5 | 1 |
| STL | 3 | 3 |
| TB | 0 | 0 |
| TEX | 0 | 3 |
| TOR | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 97 | 65 |
- April 16, 2017 -- Bryce Harper hits 3-run walk-off homer to reverse a would-be loss; WSH 6, PHI 4
- April 19, 2017 -- Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman both hit grand slams; WSH 14, ATL 4 @
- April 25, 2017 -- Trea Turner hits for the "cycle" (1B, 2B, 3B, HR); WSH 15, COL 12 @
- April 30, 2017 -- Anthony Rendon hits 3 homers and 3 other hits, with 10 RBIs in record rout; WSH 23, NYM 5
- May 13, 2017 -- Bryce Harper hits 2-run walk-off homer, in comeback from 4-0 deficit; WSH 6, PHI 4
- May 23, 2017 -- Anthony Rendon hits 2 homers, and Joe Ross pitches 8 innings; WSH 10, SEA 1
- May 31, 2017 -- Max Scherzer pitches complete game, Ryan Zimmerman hits 15th homer; WSH 3, SF 1
- June 2, 2017 -- Five Nationals hit home runs; WSH 13, OAK 3 @
- July 27, 2017 -- Six Nationals hit home runs, four consecutive, Harper & Zimmerman twice; WSH 15, MIL 2 @
- July 31, 2017 -- Gio Gonzalez pitches into 9th inning before giving up a hit; WSH 1, MIA 0 @
- August 9, 2017 -- Ryan Zimmerman hits two home runs, goes 4 for 4; WSH 10, MIA 1
- August 12, 2017 -- Bryce Harper is injured in 1st inning, after 3-hour rain delay; WSH 3, SF 1
- August 13, 2017 (2nd game) -- Howie Kendrick hits a grand slam in the 11th inning; WSH 6, SF 2
- August 28, 2017 -- Jayson Werth, back from disabled list, ignites offense with homer; WSH 11, MIA 2
- September 8, 2017 -- Michael Taylor hits inside-the-park grand slam; Phillies rally late; WSH 11, PHI 10
- October 11, 2017 -- Michael Taylor hits grand slam, Strasburg throws 12 Ks, Nats even NLDS at 2-2; WSH 5, CHC 0
2017 memorable moments
"@" = away game
| Month | Wins | Losses | NL East place (at end) |
Number of home games |
Total attendance |
Average attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2017 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 385,633 | 32,136 |
| May 2017 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 376,410 | 28,955 |
| June 2017 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 14 | 478,142 | 34,153 |
| July 2017 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 402,855 | 33,571 |
| Aug. 2017 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 447,123 | 27,945 |
| Sept. 2017 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 433,897 | 30,993 |
| 2017 | 97 | 65 | 1 | 81 | 2,524,060 | 31,161 |
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SOURCE: My unofficial daily tabulations from MLB Gameday stats, Washington Post, and other newspapers. |
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