Nationals Killed 'The Wave' This Year Too and We Should All Be Thankful
The Washington Nationals just pulled off one of the most unlikely postseason runs in recent memory, ultimately culminating in a World Series victory against the Astros on Wednesday.
As of May 23, the team was 19-31 and looked like they had no chance of even making the postseason. So what changed? Was it the batting prowess of Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto? Was it the elite pitching from Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg?
The Nationals defeat the Astros 6-2 in Game 7 to win their 1st World Series in franchise history.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 31, 2019
Washington was 10-0 in games started by Max Scherzer & Stephen Strasburg during the playoffs, the best team record in games started by any duo in a single postseason in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/Bmja8c422q
What if we were to tell you it wasn't any of these things, but it was actually the opposing teams' fans doing the wave.
the nationals have done a lot of impressive things in 2019, but perhaps none so great as their season-long crusade against the wave pic.twitter.com/Ex8ogOJL5I
— Claire McNear (@clairemcnear) October 24, 2019
Several times this season when the Nationals were down on the road, the team would miraculously make a comeback, taking direct aim at the wave as the reason why they were able to make such a run.
Obviously, much of the credit has to be given to the players and how clutch they were when down. Just look at this insane Rendon stat.
Anthony Rendon's plate appearances in the 7th inning or later of the Nationals' five elimination games this season:
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) October 31, 2019
Walk, double, home run, double, home run, double, home run
But this trend of home teams blowing leads to Washington after the wave seems way too frequent to be a coincidence. The other 29 MLB teams ought to send a memo out to their fans to avoid such a deflating loss.