Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE In 2005, Mariah Carey had the number one album and song in the country, Star Wars: Episode III was the top-grossing movie and Alex Ovechkin made his debut for the Washington Capitals.
It was also the last time the Washington Nationals entered the All-Star break at or above .500.
Until now.
The Nats ended the 1st half of the baseball season right at the .500 mark, sitting on 46 wins and 46 losses.
What’s surprising about their record isn’t that it happened, but how it happened.
Washington was without their All-Star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman for 58 games as he recovered from an abdominal tear.
They were also missing their phenom on the mound. Stephen Strasburg has missed the entire season so far as he recovers from elbow surgery. He could make start making rehab starts as early as next month.
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The Nationals’ big free agent splash, Jayson Werth, has been a gigantic bust so far. The $126 million man is hitting only .217 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs.
But there have also been some pleasant surprises in the nation’s capital.
Rookie second baseman Danny Espinosa burst onto the scene after a great end to 2010. The 24-year-old has slugged 16 home runs and driven in 52 while only making six errors in the field.
Another bright spot has been first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse. He’s made his mark in Washington by hitting .306 with 15 homers, making the list for the NL All-Stars “Final Man” competition.
With 70 games left, the Nationals are in a decent position to end the season above .500 for the first time since 2003, when they were the Montreal Expos.
As for that team in 2005, they entered the All-Star break 16 games above .500, but sputtered down the stretch to end the season at 81-81…right at .500.
One player who will definitely help the Nationals notch more wins in the future is Bryce Harper.
The #1 pick played in the minor league "Futures" All-Star Game on Sunday in Arizona, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
But everyone was talking about his performance before the game.
Harper put on a show during batting practice, including swatting a towering 433-foot blast.
The 18-year-old was recently promoted to Double-A Harrisburg after destroying Single-A pitching, hitting .318 with 14 home runs and 46 in just 72 games.
