Amid the postgame delirium on the field, the crushed beer cans and strewn champagne bottles collecting in the grass, pitcher Gio Gonzalez grabbed Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner and steered him toward the gaggle of players celebrating the club's first NL East championship.
"Ted, this is your party!" the effervescent left-hander yelled. Then, turning toward teammates, Gonzalez shouted: "Hey! Who's got the cooler? This is the man, right here!"
All in all, 21-game winner Gonzalez and the rest of the first team in 79 years to bring postseason baseball back to the nation's capital threw quite a victory party at Nationals Park on Monday night. Thanks to strong pitching from Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper's burst of energy and Adam LaRoche's slugging, the Nationals won enough from April through September that even a loss on the first day of October could not stop them from achieving the sort of success that seemed so far away only a few years ago.
Despite being beaten 2-0 by the Philadelphia Phillies, the Nationals earned their first division title since moving from Montreal in 2005, because the second-place Atlanta Braves lost 2-1 at the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"This is incredible. The excitement. The joy. The fans. Smiles on everyone's faces, the excitement that's going on," Gonzalez said. "Everyone here just witnessed history. Hopefully we can try to continue that journey."
AP
Washington Nationals starting pitcher John... View Full Caption
Washington Nationals starting pitcher John Lannan delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Washington, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Close
Washington, in first place since May 22, leads Atlanta by three games with two to play in the regular season. The Braves' loss finished as the top of the ninth inning ended in Washington, and the Nationals congratulated each other in their dugout with hugs, high-fives and spiked gloves.
"The way it happened tonight doesn't really matter," said third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the Nationals' first draft pick in June 2005. "We put ourselves in that position to have the luxury of having the other team have to play perfect baseball. We played a great 159, 160 games to get to that point, and we should be commended for that."
When Michael Morse led off the bottom of the ninth, the PA announcer informed the crowd that the home team was the champion, and when the game ended red fireworks lit the night sky with the Capitol building off in the distance beyond left field. The scoreboard declared "NL East Division Champions."
It was the second division crown in franchise history. The Montreal Expos won the NL East in 1981, a strike-shortened season, by beating the Phillies in a best-of-five playoff.
When the game ended, the Phillies — winners of the previous five NL East titles; already eliminated from playoff contention this year — gathered in the middle of the diamond for regular post-victory handshakes.
The Nationals, meanwhile, collected in their home clubhouse for alcohol-spraying. They gathered around general manager Mike Rizzo and dumped bubbly over his shaved head. Harper, who has more homers (22) than years on earth (19), shared some apple cider with LaRoche's 9-year-old son, Drake.
"I'll remember being in the scrum in the middle of the clubhouse with all the guys, just elated and all together," Rizzo said later, once the excitement had moved out to the field, where some fans stayed to clap and chant. "We live with each other for seven months a year. Culmination of all that emotion and such a successful season for us."
"Ted, this is your party!" the effervescent left-hander yelled. Then, turning toward teammates, Gonzalez shouted: "Hey! Who's got the cooler? This is the man, right here!"
All in all, 21-game winner Gonzalez and the rest of the first team in 79 years to bring postseason baseball back to the nation's capital threw quite a victory party at Nationals Park on Monday night. Thanks to strong pitching from Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper's burst of energy and Adam LaRoche's slugging, the Nationals won enough from April through September that even a loss on the first day of October could not stop them from achieving the sort of success that seemed so far away only a few years ago.
Despite being beaten 2-0 by the Philadelphia Phillies, the Nationals earned their first division title since moving from Montreal in 2005, because the second-place Atlanta Braves lost 2-1 at the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"This is incredible. The excitement. The joy. The fans. Smiles on everyone's faces, the excitement that's going on," Gonzalez said. "Everyone here just witnessed history. Hopefully we can try to continue that journey."
AP
Washington Nationals starting pitcher John... View Full Caption
Washington Nationals starting pitcher John Lannan delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Washington, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Close
Washington, in first place since May 22, leads Atlanta by three games with two to play in the regular season. The Braves' loss finished as the top of the ninth inning ended in Washington, and the Nationals congratulated each other in their dugout with hugs, high-fives and spiked gloves.
"The way it happened tonight doesn't really matter," said third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the Nationals' first draft pick in June 2005. "We put ourselves in that position to have the luxury of having the other team have to play perfect baseball. We played a great 159, 160 games to get to that point, and we should be commended for that."
When Michael Morse led off the bottom of the ninth, the PA announcer informed the crowd that the home team was the champion, and when the game ended red fireworks lit the night sky with the Capitol building off in the distance beyond left field. The scoreboard declared "NL East Division Champions."
It was the second division crown in franchise history. The Montreal Expos won the NL East in 1981, a strike-shortened season, by beating the Phillies in a best-of-five playoff.
When the game ended, the Phillies — winners of the previous five NL East titles; already eliminated from playoff contention this year — gathered in the middle of the diamond for regular post-victory handshakes.
The Nationals, meanwhile, collected in their home clubhouse for alcohol-spraying. They gathered around general manager Mike Rizzo and dumped bubbly over his shaved head. Harper, who has more homers (22) than years on earth (19), shared some apple cider with LaRoche's 9-year-old son, Drake.
"I'll remember being in the scrum in the middle of the clubhouse with all the guys, just elated and all together," Rizzo said later, once the excitement had moved out to the field, where some fans stayed to clap and chant. "We live with each other for seven months a year. Culmination of all that emotion and such a successful season for us."