2 days Ago
Image credit: (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images) The line of fans extended beyond the gates of Nationals Park and around the block, waiting for the gates to open promptly at 5:30 p.m. And once it did and they flooded the stadium, fans encountered the game’s giveaway item, a simple red t-shirt with the silhouette of a player on it.
The words, however, are what generated excitement: “Welcome to the show James Wood.” Fans quickly swapped their own jerseys, some with names like Soto, Harper and Strasburg emblazoned on the back, in exchange for their new one. A changing of the guard was, both literally and figuratively, underway at Nationals Park.
Nationals fans buzzed with excitement all weekend since news of Wood’s impending callup broke Friday afternoon. Wood, one of baseball’s top prospects, was a key part of the return in the Juan Soto trade. It was perhaps the most anticipated Nationals debut since Bryce Harper in 2012, an introduction to yet another future face of the franchise.
“It’s exciting,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I don’t want him to feel like he’s the face of anything. I just want him to go play baseball.
” Even so, you could certainly feel the anticipation. Monday’s pregame clubhouse availability featured arguably the most local and national baseball writers at one time since Washington’s 2019 postseason run. Yet to his credit, Wood said he wasn’t nervous ahead of his debut against the NL East rival Mets.
His demeanor has remaine.
