Nationals Rival Worst Stretch in Baseball History Since World Series Crown

Since the Washington Nationals won their 2019 World Series title, the wins have been in short supply.

In 2020, Washington won 26 games in the COVID-19 shortened 60-game season. In 2021, the Nats won 65, games, followed by 55 games in 2022, 71 games in 2023 and 71 games in 2024.

It’s a record Washington hopes to turn around this season, bolstered by an incredible young core of talent, along with strategic veteran additions in the batting order and in the starting rotation.

But this five-year period will go down as one of the worst in baseball history.

As the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga pointed out earlier this week, the Nats’ winning percentage in their five seasons since conquering the baseball world is .407. By any standard that’s bad. In fact, without much research, one might believe it’s the worst winning percentage for a franchise in its first five seasons after winning the World Series.

Well, fortunately, Svrluga did the research and, in fact, there is one team that was worse — but it requires going back more than 100 years.

Svrluga introduced his readers to the Philadelphia Athletics, who are now in Sacramento for the next few seasons while they wait for their new home to be built in Las Vegas.

But, back in 1913, the Athletics were managed by the legendary Connie Mack and went 96-57 and won the World Series in five games. Philadelphia appeared to be in the midst of a dynasty. The Athletics had won the World Series three of the previous four seasons.

Well, the next year, 1914, Philadelphia won 99 games and got back to the World Series but lost in four games. The next four seasons, the Athletics went in the tank. In 1915 they won 43 games, followed by 36 games in 2016, 55 games in 2017 and 52 games in 2018.

Even with a 99-win season, the Athletics finished up that five-year stretch with a winning percentage of .386, the worst for any MLB team in their first five years after winning a World Series.

The good news is the Athletics did turn it around and win another World Series. The bad news is that it took until 1929, another 12 seasons after that initial stretch of losing.

Hopefully, the Nationals fan base won’t have to wait much longer for a winning season, much less another World Series ring.