In 1920, the man who owned the Boston Red Sox needed money for a non-baseball purpose, so he sold budding superstar Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.
It was 2004 before the Red Sox won another World Series.
In 1945, Chicago Cubs wouldn’t allow tavern owner William Sianis to bring his pet goat into Wrigley Field for a World Series game.
It was 2016 before the Cubs even played in a World Series again.
Welcome to your nightmare, fans of the Washington Nationals.
It was only three years ago that the Nationals won the World Series with a team that included Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and Juan Soto. This was the season after they had losr Bryce Harper to free agency.
Harper, Rendon, Turner, Soto.
Arguably four of the 20 or so best players in baseball, and after Tuesday’s pre-deadline trade with San Diego that sent Soto west, none of them play for Washington anymore.
Say what you like about Harper, who at age 29 has already won two Most Valuable Player awards, or Rendon, who apparently didn’t really like playing in Washington.
But Trea Turner wanted to stay, and so did Soto.
Both of them were traded for the baseball equivalent of magic beans.
I don’t know if Turner will sign long-term with the Dodgers or Soto with the Padres, but I know there is almost no reason to be a fan of the Nationals anymore. The biggest contracts they have awarded have blown up in their face, with Stephen Strasburg unable to stay health and Patrick Corbin giving them one good season on a six-year contract.
Look at their roster now. I don’t see a single name on it that I would bet on becoming an above-average player, let alone an all-star. Heck, I don’t see more than one or two players I could guarantee would even be average players.
Maybe Luis Garcia.
Maybe.
Through 104 games, Washington is 35-69. That’s the worst record in baseball, just three years after winning the World Series. With Soto and Josh Bell gone, it will get much worse. My guess is that they won’t even finish the season with 50 victories. Say they’ll max out at 49-113.
That’s truly horrible.
So get ready, Washington fans. You’ve got horrible players at the major league level and a lot of question marks in the minors.
Enjoy 2019.
It may be 2099 before it happens again.
As for Soto, he’ll have a wonderful career playing for other fans.
Such a shame.