You Gotta Have Heart: Washington Baseball from Walter Johnson to the 2019 World Series Champion Nationals

by Frederic J. Frommer, Chuck Todd (Foreword by)

Overview

“Stay in the Fight … Finish the Fight … Fight Finished.”

These are the slogans the 2019 Washington Nationals used to rally from a 19-31 start to become baseball champions, earning DC’s first World Series title in ninety-five years. This reflective book captures that historic season, and a dramatic postseason that saw the team rally to win five come-from-behind elimination games – led by the arms of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin, and the bats of Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon. It also covers the colorful history of DC baseball, including the pioneering Washington Nationals of 1859, the 1924 World Series champion Washington Senators, when the entire nation rooted for DC, and the Homestead Grays, a perennial Negro League pennant winner from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493056026
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/15/2020
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	524,773
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Frederic J. Frommer is head of the Sports Business Practice at the Dewey Square Group in Washington, D.C., and author of several baseball books. A former AP reporter, Frommer has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, POLITICO Magazine, The Atlantic, CNN and SB Nation. He lives in Washington D.C. with his wife and two sons.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v

Foreword: Chuck Todd, Moderator of Meet the Press and NBC News Political Director vi

Introduction ix

1 Beginnings 1

2 Washington's First Championship 13

3 Glory Years 37

4 Red, White, and Grays: Washington's Negro League Team 49

5 Hail to the Pitch: Presidents and Senators 63

6 Futility 83

7 A Doomed Rebirth: The Expansion Senators 105

8 A Short Run: The Ted Williams Era 125

9 Fans, Moments, and Memories 153

10 The Washington Nationals: Baseball Returns 171

11 From Last to First: A National Resurgence 189

12 Worth the Wait 245

Appendix A Old Senators Statistics 292

Appendix B New Senators Statistics 295

Appendix C Nationals Statistics 296

Bibliography 297

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"If you're a real baseball fan and a real Washington history buff, and you do like the intersection of politics and sports, Fred's book's the book to get on baseball in Washington." —Chuck Todd, moderator of "Meet the Press" and NBC News political director "The national pastime has a rich history in the nation's capital, and Frederic Frommer tells this fascinating story splendidly. No fan's library should be without this book". — George F. Will, The Washington Post "Washington baseball history is full of characters: from Dummy Hoy to The Big Train, from Sam Rice to Ted Williams, Frank Robinson to Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. You Gotta Have Heart is a fun read as diverse and adventurous as the capital city itself. Stroll down the Boulevard de Base Ball and revisit the Golden Age of the ’20s, the brilliance of the Negro Leagues, and the loss of the Senators, twice! The new Nationals aren't going anywhere, and neither are you once you pick up this gem. Good luck putting it down!" — Bob Carpenter, sportscaster and announcer for the Washington Nationals "For those of us who sat watching the Washington Nationals before they became good—and were grateful for the opportunity—and who drive by the site of the old Griffith Stadium wondering what it was like in the really old days of Washington baseball, Fred Frommer’s authoritative history is an absolute treat—as it will be for anybody who just happens to like a good baseball yarn." — Jerry Seib, Washington bureau chief, The Wall Street Journal