Fastball

The Washington Nationals Have Done Something Hardly Seen in the Last 100 Years of Baseball History in 2024

The Washington Nationals are out to an 18-18 start through the first 36 games of the season, and one of the ways in which they've gotten there is because of their historic stolen base rate.

Brady Farkas

Apr 14, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (30) runs the
Apr 14, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (30) runs the / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals lost to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night, 7-6, in 12 innings.

The loss dropped the Nationals to 18-18 on the season while the win propelled the Orioles to 24-12. The Nationals entered that game at 18-17 on the season, which was the first time they had been over .500 at any point since 2021.

So how have the Nationals rebounded to a better-than-expected start? Well, some of the young prospects they acquired in deals for superstars have started to become certified major leaguers. C.J. Abrams for instance, acquired in the Juan Soto trade, is now hitting .272 this season with seven homers. They are also getting a bounceback year from Jesse Winker, who had terrible years in 2022 and 2023, but is hitting .252 with 18 RBI thus far.

Furthermore, the Nats have made things happen on the basepaths, stealing bags at a rate rarely seen in the last 100 years of baseball history.

Per Baseball Reference on social media:

The @Nationals are just the 10th team in the last 100 years to steal 60+ bases through their first 35 games.

And for good measure, the Nats stole one more bag in the Wednesday loss against the Orioles.

The team has five players with at least six stolen bases, led by Jacob Young who has 12 and Lane Thomas who has 11.

The Nationals are off on Thursday but will head to Boston for a weekend series with the Red Sox. That begins on Friday with the first pitch slated for 7:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.