In a season that has kicked Nationals fans in the teeth so many times, it is only appropriate that the team closed things out with an 8-0 loss. They could only muster one hit against the 102-loss White Sox. However, this game was still special, but not for the putrid play on the field.
Nationals long time broadcaster Bob Carpenter said ‘see you later’ one last time, as he called his final Nats game. The tributes that came in for Carpenter were fantastic. The Nats put together a tribute that had some
heavy hitters such as Joe Buck congratulate Bob on a wonderful career. Carpenter had the chance to work with Joe Buck, as well as his legendary father Jack Buck.
Throughout the game, there were a lot of great moments for Bob. One thing that I really loved is when the team saluted him after they took the field in the first inning. It was a super cool moment and a classy recognition. Carpenter is a Nationals icon and it is cool to see him be recognized as such.
To the game itself, things were pretty ugly. Darnell Coles’ reign as Nationals hitting coach ended in fitting fashion. The offensive unit only mustered one hit against a last place White Sox team at home. For a while, it looked like White Sox starter Shane Smith could throw a perfect game.
The Nationals only base runner of the game came when Brady House hit a single to the right fielder in the bottom of the 6th. Other than that, nobody reached the entire game for the Nats.
On the pitching side, Brad Lord looked worn down by the long season. His fastball velocity was down 2 ticks this afternoon. It was a very successful rookie season for Lord, but you could tell today that he was out of gas. A few of the Nats younger pitchers that pitched well for most of the season began to run out of gas in September.
Bob Carpenter was not the only one to announce that this was it for him. Former Nat Michael A. Taylor announced his retirement this morning after 10 seasons in the big leagues. Taylor got to go out in the place where it all started for him. Despite never truly grabbing on to a starting gig with the Nats, Taylor was a fan favorite due to his playoff heroics and wholesome personality.
He got a few tributes throughout the game. The Nats crowd was really eager to show their love to the center fielder. Even when he got an RBI groundout to bring home another run for the White Sox, Nats fans showered him with applause.
Despite the loss, it was an emotional day that made me proud to be a Nats fan. Sure, the game was not great and the season was not much better, but hey, there is always next year.
After the game was over, the attention turned to Carpenter once more. An emotional Bob Carpenter got to sign off for one last time. The 42 year veteran of the MLB broadcast game got to go out on his terms, with his wife right by his side. Thank you Bob, you will always be the voice of Nationals baseball to me.
This closed out the 2025 season. With the loss, the Nationals final record is a disappointing 66-96. There will be big changes coming this offseason. We know that Paul Toboni will be the new POBO, but there are still a lot of things up in the air.
Who will be the GM who reports to Toboni? Who will be the manager and what will his staff look like? These are all questions that need to be answered quickly. Hopefully those changes can breathe new life into a franchise that has really struggled since the World Series in 2019. Nationals fans are really hoping that 2026 can be a year where the team finally shows some progression because 2025 certainly was not that year.
