We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2024. We begin the series today looking back at the departures of the final pieces from the 2019 World Series championship team …

The revolving door had been turning since that glorious night in Houston on Oct. 30, 2019. The roster that helped the Nationals clinch their first World Series championship in franchise history would never be assembled again. But that didn’t mean pieces couldn’t linger.

Players – both of the utmost importance and those who were along for the ride – stayed around in the years since. That was until this year when, finally, the last pieces of that championship squad departed D.C.

The first to leave in 2024 was the World Series MVP, Stephen Strasburg. After a convoluted and confusing path to get there, the 36-year-old officially retired on April 6, months after plans were already in place to announce the end of his career due to complications from thoracic outlet syndrome.

The hold-up? The money still owed Strasburg, who only pitched 31 ⅓ innings in three years after the World Series, from the seven-year, $245 million extension he signed in December 2019. He was still owed $100 million over the next three years.

The 2024 baseball season ended Wednesday night, when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 7-6 to win the World Series four games to one.

Last year the World Series was a matchup of wild card teams with No. 5 seed Texas beating No. 6 seed Arizona for the WS championship.

In 2023, there were three teams that won 100 games or more. The Atlanta Braves won 104, the Orioles won 101 and the Los Angeles Dodgers won 100.

None of those teams won a single playoff series. In fact between the three teams, they won one playoff game. The O’s and Dodgers were swept in the Division Series.

Fans were wondering if winning your division and getting a five-day layoff, was working against those teams. This year, teams had no such problems.

Let’s dive into the first post-World Series mailbag while the offseason heats up.

You ask again, I answer again, and we have the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

This is a politics-free mailbag. Let’s consider it practice for next week.

It’s also an editing-free mailbag. Let your clarity, length and style shine.

An important reminder here that my mailbag gets lots of candy on Halloween and your mailbag gets a toothbrush and dental floss.

There’s fan interference, and then there’s grabbing an outfielder’s glove and ripping the baseball out of it with help from a friend. That’s a whole other level of intrusive, as well as dumb.

The media loves to shine a spotlight on these people, as ESPN.com did Tuesday night with tremendous enthusiasm. Editors drool over it. Reporters are ordered out of the press box and into the stands for an exclusive interview. Or in the case of the two imbeciles in the Yankees jerseys sitting in the front row for Game 4 of the World Series, race to a bar across the street and give the guys their 15 minutes of fame.

You pay an exorbitant price for tickets and get ejected in the first inning. Such a brilliant move. The decision came down to doing that or using a toaster oven as a bath toy.

Jeffrey Maier was too young to drink in 1996, and he wasn’t tossed out of Yankee Stadium after reaching out to deflect Derek Jeter’s fly ball into the stands in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series as Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco camped under it at the wall.

Neither one caught it. Get the story straight. Maier knocked the ball into the seats for the tying home run and was treated like a hero, including appearances on national talk shows. The Daily News made arrangements for Maier to sit behind the Yankees dugout for the World Series.  

Game 1 of the 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees was seen by 15.2 million viewers on Fox television.

That number was up 62 percent from last year’s Game 1 when 9.35 million watched the Diamondbacks and Rangers. It was the most-watched World Series opening game since Astros-Dodgers was seen by 15.33 million in 2017.

A Baseball America article called the audience “massive” and noted that often the World Series total average viewership for the series exceeds the Game 1 number.

Said BA: “While 2016’s 22.8 million average viewership is unlikely to be exceeded, an average of 15 million viewers would blow away any recent World Series. Last year’s Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series averaged an all-time low 9.1 million viewers per game, and there hasn’t been a World Series to top 12 million in average viewership since 2019. A 15-million average viewership would rank as the third highest since 2010, which is impressive given TV viewership for anything but football has dwindled dramatically in the past decade-plus thanks to the demise of cable TV and the rise of streaming services and social media.”

According to Sports Media Watch, Game 2 on Saturday averaged 13.44 million viewers on FOX (13.8 million across all Fox Sports platforms). That was the largest audience for Game 2 since Dodgers-Red Sox in 2018 (13.51M) and a 65% increase from last year’s record-low 8.15 million for Diamondbacks-Rangers.

On the one hand, some complained about a lack of star-power last year when No. 5 seed Texas played No. 6 seed Arizona in a World Series matchup featuring teams that played in the Wild Card round.

This year is very different.

For just the fifth time since 1995, the World Series features the winningest clubs in each league. It is the first World Series pitting the major markets of New York and Los Angeles since 1981.

While some fans may not be excited about a Yankees-Dodgers matchup, the ratings figure to be good, maybe great. Last year’s five-game World Series with the Rangers and Diamondbacks was the least watched with an average audience of 9.08 million viewers.

According to a Forbes article, the TV ratings have been mostly good this year.

Jumping around the baseball world with a few random notes and takes.

Well at least this year the narrative that the top teams don’t win in baseball and that it’s hard to have a five-day layoff before the playoffs for division winners, were blown all to heck.

We need a new narrative!

Last year wild card teams played in the World Series when No. 5 seed Texas beat No. 6 seed Arizona.

This year’s matchup is the top-seed New York Yankees from the American League and No. 1 seed Los Angeles Dodgers from the National League.

Most members of the 2019 Nationals enjoyed long, distinguished careers, playing for multiple franchises and experiencing personal highs and lows along the way. None of them, though, ever played for a team quite like that one.

Because of how the season ended, yes. But also because of the bond they all created along the way.

“I’d still be playing if we had that group in 2019 over and over again,” said Brian Dozier, who retired in 2021. “It was a great group.”

The members of the franchise’s first World Series roster are forever connected, and when they gathered back at Nationals Park this weekend for the five-year celebration of that achievement, they were instantly transported back to the greatest season of their lives.

Twelve players from that roster were in attendance, including alumni Ryan Zimmerman, Howie Kendrick, Adam Eaton, Kurt Suzuki, Aníbal Sánchez, Sean Doolittle, Gerardo Parra, Javy Guerra and Dozier. Many of the 10 players still actively playing elsewhere sent in video messages. All received rousing ovations from the crowd that assembled to celebrate a championship in a way that wasn’t possible in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions.

While Friday night technically kicked off the Nationals’ weekend-long celebration of the 2019 World Series championship’s five-year anniversary, today is when the real festivities begin.

Several Nats alumni from the 2019 team will be at today’s game to participate in reunion events around the ballpark, including a Q&A session with fans. The first 20,000 fans to today’s game will receive a replica World Series ring. And tomorrow’s finale includes a 2019 World Series viewing toy giveaway for the first 8,000 fans 12 and under, plus autograph sessions.

For those fans who don’t have tickets for the games, former players will be joining the MASN and Nationals Radio Network (English and Spanish) broadcasts today and tomorrow, with special features also airing during the pregame shows.

And after five years – with a global pandemic happening right after the club’s first championship – the Nats are ecstatic to celebrate this weekend with former players and fans.

“I'm very excited,” said Davey Martinez, the Nats’ longest-tenured manager and the only one to not just win a playoff series, but win a championship. “I'm looking forward to seeing all the guys again, I really am. It's gonna be a fun weekend.”

The Nationals return home from a 5-4 West Coast road trip for a celebratory weekend as the organization relives the magical 2019 World Series run for the championship’s five-year anniversary. And it is no coincidence the team they are hosting during this celebration is the team they defeated in seven games to win the World Series: the Houston Astros.

To kick off the weekend, the Nats will send to the mound one of the young pitchers they hope will help lead them to their next championship, MacKenzie Gore. The 25-year-old left-hander is off to a great start to the season and has been the Nats’ best starter to date. He leads the rotation with a 2-0 record, 2.81 ERA and 23 strikeouts over his first three starts. And although his 16 innings don’t quite qualify him for league leader boards just yet, his 12.94 strikeout-per-nine-innings rate would currently rank third among qualified major league pitchers.

After having strong outings against the Pirates, Phillies and Athletics, Gore will test his stuff against a dangerous Astros lineup that ranks in the top three in the majors in home runs, average and OPS.

Justin Verlander makes his long-awaited season debut for the Astros tonight. The three-time Cy Young Award winner started the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder and made two minor league rehab starts before rejoining the big league club. The 41-year-old right-hander is expected to be on some sort of pitch limit, so it will be in the Nats’ best interest to work good at-bats.

And just for the record, since it is World Series reunion weekend: Verlander went 0-2 and allowed seven runs over 11 innings for a 5.73 ERA in two World Series home starts against the Nats five years ago.

It’s been noted many times before the Nationals never got to enjoy the traditional “victory lap” that comes the season after a team wins a championship, because the 2020 season was delayed, condensed and played in empty ballparks due to COVID-19.

Nearly five years later, the club will attempt to make up for lost time with an anniversary weekend celebration of the 2019 World Series champs.

With the Astros in town for a three-game interleague series, it only made sense to revisit that epic series now, even if five full years have yet to pass and this is only the second homestand of the current season. So the weekend will feature a number of special events and giveaways, plus the return of several members of the championship roster and coaching staff.

Tonight’s series opener features a postgame fireworks show, with a distinct 2019 theme to it. The first 20,000 fans to attend Saturday’s game will receive a replica World Series ring and have the opportunity to listen to Q&A sessions with players and coaches. And Sunday’s finale, geared toward kids, includes a 2019 World Series viewing toy for the first 8,000 fans 12 and under, plus autograph sessions with several alumni.

The list of scheduled attendees includes the five members of the World Series roster who either still play or coach for the Nationals: Patrick Corbin, Sean Doolittle, Gerardo Parra, Tanner Rainey and Victor Robles. Seven retired players from the team are also scheduled to appear: Brian Dozier, Adam Eaton, Javy Guerra, Howie Kendrick, Anibal Sanchez, Kurt Suzuki and Ryan Zimmerman.

There is no storyline in sports more compelling, at least to this humble sportswriter, than a team or individual historically the victim of postseason heartbreak finally exorcising its demons and winning the big one.

More than great dynasties, more than unexpected upsets, the reversal of a longstanding narrative to secure a championship makes for the best sports theater. Think the Red Sox and Cubs breaking their curses. Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup at last. John Elway hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after losing the Super Bowl three previous times.

And, of course, the Nationals finally getting over the hump in 2019 after repeatedly losing in the National League Division Series in soul-crushing fashion.

It’s why I find the Buffalo Bills one of the most compelling franchises in any sport and why I was so intrigued by their AFC Divisional Playoff matchup Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Nobody has suffered the kind of playoff heartbreak the Bills have suffered in their history. Four consecutive Super Bowl losses in the 1990s. The Music City Miracle. And then three straight playoff losses the last three seasons, two of them to the Chiefs (including one of the all-time heartbreakers two years ago in Kansas City).

So when it happened again Sunday night, when Tyler Bass pushed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right to seal yet another dagger of a playoff loss, I couldn’t help but feel devastated for “Bills Mafia,” which at this point has to be numb to the experience of Lucy pulling the ball away at the last second, leaving them flat on their backs yet again.

For as much angst as the recently completed World Series generated – How dare the venerable Fall Classic feature a 90-win team against an 84-win team, neither of which won its division! – it really should have been embraced to the fullest extent around here.

Not because Nationals fans should’ve felt an emotional pull toward the Rangers, who spent the first 11 of their 63 years of existence as the Washington Senators. Not because it afforded Max Scherzer the opportunity to win his second ring. And not because the Diamondbacks made sure neither the reviled Dodgers nor the reviled Phillies (who took care of the reviled Braves) would reach the World Series again.

No, this series should’ve been wholly embraced by any baseball fan in the D.C. area because it offered something that’s been in short supply around here for several years now: Hope. Real hope.

Surely you heard it mentioned once or 17 times in the last two weeks, but just in case you forgot: Both the Rangers and Diamondbacks lost 100-plus games two seasons ago. Then Texas went 68-94 while Arizona went 74-88 last season. And here they were squaring off in the final week of October for the Commissioner’s Trophy.

The Nationals, as you already know, lost 107 games last season. And they finished this season 71-91. Huh, how do you like that?

Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

It’s hard not to as the Nationals make their first visit to Houston since winning the 2019 World Series in Game 7 at Minute Maid Park. And I don’t really like reminiscing too much about something that happened four years ago.

There have been three different World Series champions since the Nats won it all. And in that time, the Nats have had three straight last-place finishes in the National League East.

The team looks completely different now, too. There is only one player from that 2019 roster currently on the Nats’ active 26-man roster: Patrick Corbin, who coincidentally was credited as the winning pitcher in Game 7 after three shutout innings of relief and will start tonight’s series opener. There are only three other players from that team on this 40-man roster: Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Rainey and Victor Robles, all recovering from injuries.

There are a couple of guys still with the organization. Sean Doolittle and Matt Adams are on minor league deals, trying to work their way back to the majors. But a lot of the big-name players are now gone.

As they watched the final inning of the World Series late Saturday night, Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez and anyone else with a connection to the Nationals surely were focused on Dusty Baker, thrilled to see their friend and former colleague finally win a championship as a manager, some 41 years after he won his lone title as a player.

Like so many others across the baseball world, they were rooting for Baker to get over the final hump that should lock up his permanent residence in Cooperstown. And like so many others across the baseball world, they probably weren’t excited to watch the Astros win their second World Series title, five years after their first one became tainted by a sign-stealing scandal that made them into the sport’s biggest villains.

But once the emotions of Saturday’s events in Houston wore off, it would have been appropriate for Rizzo, Martinez and everyone else who cares about the Nats to have another thought: How have the Astros been able to sustain their success and win a second championship while our own local franchise now finds itself a 107-loss disaster only three years after hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy on that very same field?

The easy answer is to lament the Nationals’ inability to retain the core of star players that led them to that glorious moment in October 2019. Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and Ryan Zimmerman are all gone now, the first four not because they retired like Zimmerman but because they either were traded away or departed as free agents.

If only they had been willing to spend what it took to keep some of those cornerstones – not to mention Bryce Harper, who was two wins away from winning his first World Series ring with the Phillies – the Nats wouldn’t be in this awful predicament right now.

With the start of the World Series last night, I found myself playing around with the Stathead feature on Baseball-Reference.com yesterday checking some vary random facts and notes.

Such as which Oriole played in the most postseason games wearing the Orange and Black only? The Oriole to play the most postseason games for Baltimore was Mark Belanger, who was in 43 such games. Brooks Robinson comes next at 39 and Paul Blair is third with 35 games.

Hall of Famer Frank Robinson with nine, hit the most postseason homers for the Orioles. Brady Anderson, Eddie Murray and Boog Powell each hit six to tie for second. Don Buford and Brooks Robinson hit five each.

When I checked to see the OPS leaders for the O’s in the playoffs, if the standard was just 25 plate appearances at a minimum, here is the top of the list:

1.076 – Harold Baines
1.007 – Nelson Cruz
.955 – Brady Anderson
.949 – Geronimo Berroa
.939 – Todd Zeile