2013 Washington Nationals season

The 2013 Washington Nationals season was the Nationals' ninth season for the baseball franchise of Major League Baseball in the District of Columbia, the sixth season at Nationals Park, and the 45th since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The Nationals finished the year second place in the National League East with an 86–76 record, but were unable to return to the postseason after their division-winning 2012 campaign. The 2013 season was also the last with manager Davey Johnson, who retired following the end of the season.

Offseason
On November 29, 2012, the Nationals traded minor-leaguer Alex Meyer to the Minnesota Twins for Denard Span.

On January 16, 2013, Washington took part in a three-team trade in which the Oakland Athletics sent A. J. Cole, Blake Treinen, and a player to be named later to the Nationals, the Nationals sent Michael Morse to the Seattle Mariners, and the Mariners sent John Jaso to the Athletics. The Athletics sent minor-leaguer Ian Krol to the Nationals on March 20, 2013, to complete the trade.

Spring training
The Nationals held their 2013 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.

Notable transactions

 * June 11, 2013: The Nationals traded Henry Rodriguez to the Chicago Cubs for minor-leaguer Ian Dickson.
 * July 8, 2013: The Nationals traded minor-leaguer Ivan Pineyro and a player to be named later to the Chicago Cubs for Scott Hairston, cash, and a player to be named later.
 * July 10, 2013: The Nationals traded a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Brian Jeroloman. Late in the day, the Nationals sent Brian Bocock to the Pirates to complete the trade.
 * August 19, 2013: The Nationals purchased David DeJesus from the Chicago Cubs.
 * August 23, 2013: The Nationals traded Kurt Suzuki to the Oakland Athletics for minor-leaguer Dakota Bacus and traded David DeJesus to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later; the Rays sent minor-leaguer Matthew Spann to the Nationals on September 19, 2013, to complete the trade.

Major league debuts

 * Erik Davis (June 2, 2013)
 * Taylor Jordan (June 29, 2013)
 * Nate Karns (May 28, 2013)
 * Jeff Kobernus (May 25, 2013)
 * Ian Krol (June 5, 2013)
 * Anthony Rendon (April 21, 2013)
 * Tanner Roark (August 7, 2013)
 * Zach Walters (September 6, 2013)

Culture and entertainment
In January 2013 the Nationals announced that they would add a fifth Racing President to the Presidents Race that took place during every home game. The new president, William Howard Taft ("Bill"), joined the original four Racing Presidents – George Washington ("George"), Thomas Jefferson ("Tom"), Abraham Lincoln ("Abe"), and Theodore Roosevelt ("Teddy") – all of whom had raced since 2006. The addition of Bill honored the real President Taft, who started the tradition of the presidential ceremonial first pitch in 1910 at a Washington Senators game at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., and also is widely credited with having accidentally created the seventh-inning stretch while attending a game. Bill debuted in the Opening Day Presidents Race on April 1, 2013, and won his first race on May 11, going on to win 11 races before the season ended.

Attendance
The Nationals drew 2,652,422 fans at Nationals Park in 2013. Only the 2,731,993 they drew in their first season in Washington in 2005 exceeded it, and it placed them sixth in attendance for the season among the 15 National League teams, their highest attendance ranking for a single season at the time. Their highest attendance at a home game was on April 1, when they drew 45,274 for a game against the Miami Marlins on Opening Day, while their lowest was 24,394 for a game against the Marlins on August 28. Their average home attendance was 32,746 per game, second-highest since their arrival in Washington.

Statistics
Both tables are sortable.

Batting
Note: POS = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Complete offensive statistics can be found here.

Pitching
Note: POS = Position; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; HLD = Holds; ERA = Earned run average; SO= Strikeouts; WHIP = Walks and hits per inning pitched

Complete pitching statistics can be found here.

Team leaders
Qualifying players only.

All-Stars

 * Bryce Harper, OF
 * Jordan Zimmermann, P

Jordan Zimmermann did not appear in the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game due to injury.

Annual awards

 * Silver Slugger: Ian Desmond, SS

Ian Desmond became the second Washington Nationals player to win two Silver Slugger Awards. The first was third baseman Ryan Zimmermann, who won Silver Slugger Awards in 2009 and 2010.

Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Nationals