Instead of being a few weeks into the Major League Baseball season, the Washington Nationals are hanging out at home and self-quarantining during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
So Tuesday night, they watched the re-airing of their Game 7 World Series victory over the Houston Astros and clearly had a great time doing it.
Everyone ranging from general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez to star pitcher Max Scherzer to slugger Juan Soto to postseason icon Gerardo Parra (who’s in Japan right now) dialed in at one point to the Zoom video call, which was hosted by first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and MASN reporter Dan Kolko. The call was to raise money for the Pros for Heroes Covid-19 Relief Fund, which Zimmerman and his wife, Heather, set up to aid healthcare workers during the pandemic.
And the Nationals took some swings at the Astros for their sign-stealing scandal, which came to light this winter during the offseason. (Plenty of fans got in on it too during spring training.)
While watching the game, class clown Brian Dozier, who’s now with the San Diego Padres organization, grabbed a trash can and began banging on it while Soto was at the plate against Houston’s Roberto Osuna in the eighth inning.
While banging on the trash can with what appears to be a wooden spoon, Dozier said:
“Juan, I got you. I got you. Fastball! Fastball!”
On that at-bat, Soto got an RBI single to help give the Nationals a 4-2 lead on their way to the 6-2 series win.
Zimmerman, like fans in real time back in October, was also baffled by then-Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole warming up but not playing in Game 7, and he took a few shots at the now-yankees pitcher. And, As NBC Sports Washington noted, after Washington won the game and were receiving the Commissioner’s Trophy, reliever Sean Doolittle also took a shot at Rob Manfred and said:
“Look at that piece of metal!”
At one point during the call, Dozier was also dressed up as The Freeze, the Atlanta Braves’ sprinter who races fans down the warning track at games.
If you missed the Nationals’ Zoom call, you can still rewatch it on Facebook. Others who joined in at one point include Stephen Strasburg, Sean Doolittle, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner. The call raised more than $200,000, according to Kolko.
