Looking Back at 2005 Inaugural Washington Nationals

Cheryl Nichols by Contributor Written on April 15, 2009
WASHINGTON - APRIL 14: (L-R) Nick Johnson #24 Vinny Castilla #9, Ryan Church #19 and Terrmel Sledge #19 of the Washington Nationals celebrate after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 during the Nationals home opener April 14, 2005 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane....

The Washington Nationals are now in their fifth season since moving from Montreal. Looking back, most people didn't expect much from that inaugural team and in four complete seasons, the 2005 team maintains the best record!

The 2005 Washington Nationals played 162 games during the regular season. They won 81 games, lost 81 games with a .500 winning percentage, however, in the competitive NLEast, it was only good enough for fifth place. The Nats played their home games at R.F.K. Stadium where 2,731,993 fans attended the Nationals inaugural season.

The 2005 team roster looks very different from the 2009 roster. Only Guz and NJ are still Nationals from the 2005 Opening Day roster. Jason Bergmann P was a late 2005 season call up, pitched on 8/28/2005 and remains with club, however, was recently sent to Nats AAA affiliate in Syracuse.

Ryan Zimmerman 3B was a late 2005 season call up, played his first game as a National was on 9/1/2005 and became the "face of the franchise" after Wilkerson was traded. Zimremains with club today and started at 3B on Opening Day 2009.

 

2005 Washington Nationals Starting Line-up on Opening Day (April 4, 2005 in Philly):

Brad Wilkerson, CF

Cristian Guzman, SS

Jose Vidro, 2B

Jose Guillen, RF

Nick Johnson, 1B

Vinny Castilla, 3B

Terrmel Sledge, LF

Brian Schneider, C

Livan Hernandez, P

 

Where are the other 7 players from the 4/4/2005 lineup?

Stephen Bradley Wilkerson was the "face of the franchise" before Ryan Zimmerman, however, was only in DC for the inaugural season. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1998 in the first round of amateur draft and was with the Expos/Nationals until December 2005 when Brad was part of the Alfonso Soriano trade with the Texas Rangers (along with Armando Galarraga and Terrmel Sledge). Wilkerson spent two years with the Rangers, was signed by the Seattle Mariners as a free agent in January 2008 and then released in May of that same year, and then signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent in May 2008. The Boston Red Sox signed him as a free agent in February 2009 and he is currently on the Pawtucket roster (AAA Red Sox). Wilkerson secured his historic tie to the Nationals by hitting the club's first hit on opening day in Philadelphia on April 4, 2005 as well as the Nationals first cycle

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written on April 15, 2009 History

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