We never quit: Washington on World Series win

Washington Nationals players Anthony Rendon (left) and Ryan Zimmerman leaping in celebration after defeating the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 7 of the MLB World Series in Houston, Texas. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Washington Nationals players Anthony Rendon (left) and Ryan Zimmerman leaping in celebration after defeating the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 7 of the MLB World Series in Houston, Texas. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

HOUSTON • Ryan Zimmerman, the longest-serving player of the Washington Nationals, revelled in the celebrations late on Wednesday night.

He had just hoisted the baseball team's maiden World Series trophy on the stage following another signature late-inning comeback to defeat the Houston Astros 6-2 in a winners-take-all Game 7.

As the franchise's first draft pick in 2005 after relocating from Montreal, Zimmerman has experienced it all, including 100-loss regular seasons. The most improbable championship run in recent Major League Baseball history came as no surprise to him.

"What a weird year," he said. "What a weird team. We just kept going, man. Could've quit. Could've rolled over. But this group of guys, we bounce back. It's almost fitting that we won this way."

The Nationals roared back from 12 games under .500 on May 24 - becoming a loose, easygoing bunch of dancers along the way - to claim a post-season berth.

In the National League, they won the wild-card game over Milwaukee Brewers on a fluky late-inning hit and error. They stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers in their division series before ploughing through the St Louis Cardinals in the championship series.

But those wins paled in comparison to the decider on Wednesday.

They were nine outs from claiming their first championship in franchise history, but it was the Astros who were ultimately denied their second title in three years.

The Nationals became the first team to win eight straight post-season games, while also owning the worst record through 50 games (19-31) of any champions.

Their pitcher Stephen Strasburg was selected as the World Series Most Valuable Player after giving up four runs in 141/3 innings across two starts, and manager Dave Martinez hailed his team's ability to battle through adversity as key to beating the long odds.

"This is the most resilient bunch of guys," the Nationals coach said. "They believed in each other. The biggest thing for us was (we) never quit. We stayed in the fight, we won the fight."

DPA, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 01, 2019, with the headline We never quit: Washington on World Series win. Subscribe