Over the course of 17 seasons on the Nationals beat, you come across players with every type of personality and every type of approach when it comes to dealing with reporters. Some are outgoing and gregarious. Some are shy and reticent. Some are polite but know how to say nothing interesting. Some are rude but can't help themselves and say plenty of things they shouldn't have said. In those 17 seasons, though, there has never been an interview subject quite like Giovany Aramis...

With no news on the state of the 2020 season expected until sometime today, the baseball world was left Sunday with nothing else to do but wax nostalgic and watch a documentary about the breaking of one of the sport's most hallowed records 22 years ago. The Great Home Run Chase of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was beloved by everyone at the time, cringed at now because of the added layer of context we now have for what took place. Watching it, though, reminded me of the breaking of...

If baseball resumes in 2020, it will almost certainly do so with restricted access to the clubhouse, only essential personnel allowed through those sacred doors. That'll be a big change from the way it's been for a long time. And it'll ruin the possibility of any ridiculous stories like this one from happening again ... Players often invite guests into the clubhouse before or after games. Their children or another relative. A close friend. Maybe even a furry friend. It doesn't happen all...

I woke up on the morning of June 24, 2011, exhausted from the events of the previous day, and rushed to the airport to catch a flight to Chicago. The Nationals were opening a three-game interleague series against the White Sox, having just won 11 of their last 12 but now employing a temporary manager for the weekend. Jim Riggleman's surprise resignation following a walk-off win over the Mariners at Nationals Park had shocked the baseball world, certainly the baseball-caring portion of...

I get asked often about the craziest story I've covered on the Nationals beat, and there's no shortage of choices over the last 15 years. But my answer has been consistent for a long time now: it's Jim Riggleman's surprise resignation during the 2011 season, and the chaotic 72 hours that followed. In fact, when Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (a long ago intern on the Nats beat) asked on Twitter a few days ago "What's the most random sports moment you'd watch a 10-part...

Every so often in this profession, you write an article knowing it's going to touch a few nerves. Criticism isn't going to sit well with everyone, especially those who are actually being criticized. But when it happens, you show up to work the next day, and if someone wants to let you know what they really thought about your work, you give them the opportunity to express those feelings (hopefully in a productive manner). It's all part of the job, and over time you learn how to deal with it....

This extended break is offering us a chance to write some stories we wouldn't normally write and to take a few trips down memory lane. So here's a trip back in time for you that includes an epic behind-the-scenes story from the postgame clubhouse. Maybe this will be the first of several such stories that can be shared with you until we have real baseball again. The date is July 15, 2005. The Nationals are in Milwaukee, facing the Brewers in front of a packed Friday night house at Miller Park....