HOUSTON — Fear not, Washington Nationals fans -- the 2019 World Series is finally here.
On Tuesday, the Nationals will face the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the Fall Classic, which will mark the first World Series in franchise history.
Looking for a briefing on the upcoming series or just another reason or two to get hyped before first pitch? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Here are WUSA 9 Sports Director Darren Haynes:
10. Rock the Blue! Nationals are undefeated this postseason (7-0) when they wear their alternate navy-blue jerseys with white script. Dating back to the start of the 2018 season, when they debuted their navy alternates, the Nats are 24-5 in the jerseys.
FYI the Astros like to wear their white jerseys. The Astros are 4-1 this postseason when they wear those jerseys.
9. The Nationals 93 regular-season wins are the most for a team that was 12 games under .500 at any point during the season since the 1914 Boston Braves. The team known as the “Miracle Braves” would go on to win the World Series that year.
8. Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman will finally play in the World Series ending a 15-year drought that was tied for the longest of any active position player. Zimmerman’s teammate and NLCS MVP Howie Kendrick will end a 14-season run without a Fall Classic appearance followed by Asdrubal Cabrera (13th season) and Gerardo Parra (11th).
7. Astros star Alex Bregman has a close connection to Washington baseball. His grandfather, Stan, was a D.C. lawyer who convinced Minneapolis businessman Bob Short to purchase the expansion Washington Senators (the second iteration of the franchise) in 1968. Stan Bregman also convinced Short to hire the legendary Ted Williams to manage the Senators in 1969. Bregman’s father, Sam, played baseball at Walter Johnson High in Bethesda, Md.
6. It’s been a minute. This is just the second playoff matchup between teams from Houston and Washington in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues. In 1977, the NBA’s Houston Rockets defeated the Washington Bullets, four games to two, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
5. This World Series will be dominated by pitching! This is the first World Series since 1945 to feature six of the top 20 qualified pitchers in ERA, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That’s Cole (third), Verlander (fourth), Scherzer (eighth), Greinke (ninth), Corbin (13th) and Strasburg (16th).
4. A Washington team hasn’t won a World Series since the original Senators in 1924 (84 YEARS) and will be playing in its first World Series since 1933.
3. The Astros and Nationals both play Spring Training games at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla. They opened their Grapefruit League schedule against each other on February 23rd. Per the Baseball Hall of Fame research staff, this is just the second World Series matchup featuring teams that share a common Spring Training site. In 1942, the Cardinals beat the Yankees in five games after the clubs began the year sharing Waterfront Park (now Al Lang Field) in St. Petersburg, Fla., for their Spring Training games.
2. The Astros opened as the biggest favorites to win the World Series since 2007. Caesars Sportsbook on Sunday opened the Astros as -235 favorites to beat the Nationals in the best-of-seven series. The Nationals are listed as +195 underdogs. At -235, the Astros are the largest favorites entering the World Series since the 2007 Boston Red Sox were -240 to beat the Colorado Rockies, according to Sportsoddshistory.com. FYI, the Nationals have dominated the Astros winning 14 of their last 16 matchups since September 11, 2011.
1. The Nationals/Expos franchise played 50 full seasons from 1969-2018 before punching its first World Series ticket, the longest any Major League franchise has had to wait for its first league pennant. The Rangers (previously the Senators) were the previous record-holders after playing 50 full seasons before capturing their first AL pennant in 2010, and the Astros waited 43 full seasons before playing in their first World Series in 2005.