2005 Washington Nationals

2005 ROSTER     Manager   20 Frank Robinson     Coaches     Pitchers   36 Tony Armas, Jr.   56 Luis Ayala   57 Jay Bergmann   48 Hector Carrasco   32 Chad Cordero   40 Zach Day   45 Ryan Drese   58 Joey Eischen   54 John Halama   61 Livan Hernandez   39 Joe Horgan   34 Travis Hughes   31 Sun-Woo Kim   21 Esteban Loaiza   38 Gary Majewski   47 C.J. Nitkowski   34 Tomo Ohka   13 Antonio Osuna   22 John Patterson   31 Darrell Rasner   51 Jon Rauch   30 Mike Stanton   52 T.J. Tucker   45 Claudio Vargas   47 Matt White     Catchers   29 Gary Bennett   55 Keith Osik   23 Brian Schneider     Infielders   5 Carlos Baerga   2 Jamey Carroll   9 Vinny Castilla   25 Wil Cordero   4 Deivi Cruz   15 Cristian Guzman   54 Brendan Harris   24 Nick Johnson   4 Henry Mateo   35 Rick Short   11 Junior Spivey   3 Jose Vidro   25 Ryan Zimmerman     Outfielders   28 Tony Blanco   26 Marlon Byrd   47 Matt Cepicky   47 Endy Chavez   19 Ryan Church   26 J.J. Davis   6 Jose Guillen   11 Jeffrey Hammonds   39 Kenny Kelly   18 Terrmel Sledge   0 Brandon Watson   7 Brad Wilkerson   44 Preston Wilson     Other Positions   1 Tyrell Godwin *   * Only had batting appearances.

Franchise: Washington Nationals / BR 2005 Team Page

Record: 81-81, Finished 5th in NL Eastern Division (2005 NL)

Managed by Frank Robinson

Coaches: Don Buford, Dave Huppert, Tom McCraw, Rob Natal, Eddie Rodriguez, Randy St. Claire and Jack Voigt

Ballpark: R.F.K. Stadium

Season Highlights

The 2005 Washington Nationals played the first season in their history. Before the season, the Montreal Expos were moved to Washington, DC and became the Washington Nationals. They surprisingly led the NL East at the All-Star break, but struggled in the second half of the season. They finished the year in last place in the division but did manage a .500 record. The club finished last in the National League in batting average, home runs, runs, and hits. Their pitchers had a bit more success. Closer Chad Cordero led the major leagues with 47 saves, and starter Livan Hernandez won 15 games and joined Cordero on the All-Star team.

Despite their mediocre performance on the field, the Nationals were a success at the gate, drawing more than 2.7 million fans to R.F.K. Stadium.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Chad Cordero and Livan Hernandez
• NL Rolaids Relief Award: Chad Cordero

Opening Day Lineup

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

Further Reading

• James R. Hartley: Baseball is Back: The Washington Nationals 2005 Inaugural Season, Corduroy Press, Germantown, MD, 2006.
• Ted Leavengood: The 2005 Washington Nationals: Major League Baseball Returns to the Capital, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.

2005 MLB season by team