World Series champ Nationals take celebration to White House

Catcher Kurt Suzuki donned a “Make America Great Again” hat during the half-hour ceremony.

SHARE World Series champ Nationals take celebration to White House
President Donald Trump stands with Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki during an event honoring the 2019 World Series champions on the balcony of the White House.

President Donald Trump stands with Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki during an event honoring the 2019 World Series champions on the balcony of the White House.

Patrick Semansky/AP

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump honored the World Series champion Nationals at the White House on Monday, though more than a half-dozen players skipped the ceremony on the South Lawn.

Reliever Sean Doolittle, who along with his wife has worked with Syrian refugees and military veterans and supports gay rights, did not the event. Also among those not listed as being in attendance Monday are National League MVP candidate Anthony Rendon, outfielders Victor Robles and Michael A. Taylor, and pitchers Joe Ross, Javy Guerra and Wander Suero.

Of the 25 players on Washington’s World Series roster, 18 were in attendance. Principal owner Mark Lerner was the only member of the ownership group listed as attending.

Trump applauded the team’s first title in franchise history, calling it a “comeback story for the ages” and predicting it will be the first victory of many. He singled out World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg, NLCS MVP Howie Kendrick and others.

Catcher Kurt Suzuki donned a “Make America Great Again” hat during the half-hour ceremony, and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman thanked Trump for keeping the country safe and making it the greatest on earth before presenting Trump with a No. 45 Nationals jersey.

Despite those moments and the president referencing impeachment, the Nationals’ visit did not have as much political undertone as when the 2018 champion Boston Red Sox were honored by Trump but without manager Alex Cora, who did not attend that ceremony after citing his frustration with the administration’s efforts to help his native Puerto Rico recover from a devastating hurricane.

Washington manager Dave Martinez, whose parents are Puerto Rican, was in attendance and made some brief remarks.

The Nationals’ White House visit was the latest stop on their whirlwind victory tour around the nation’s capital after coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to beat the Houston Astros in Game 7 last week. The team parade down Constitution Avenue on Saturday and celebrated at the Washington Capitals hockey game Sunday night.

The Latest
Despite getting into foul trouble, which limited him to just six minutes in the second half, Shannon finished with 29 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Cowboy hats, bell-bottoms and boots were on full display Thursday night as fans lined up for the first of his three sold-out shows.
The incident occurred about 3:40 p.m. near Minooka. The horse was successfully placed back into the trailer, and the highway reopened about 40 minutes later. No injuries were reported.
The Hawks conceded the game’s only two goals within the first seven minutes and were shut out for the 12th time this season in a 2-0 defeat Thursday.