The Washington Nationals offseason of celebration is still young four days after winning the 2019 World Series over the Houston Astros in Game 7. There’s still plenty of time to match the Capitals’ party-filled summer of 2018, which featured swimming in fountains and plenty of alcohol.
On Sunday, the Capitals honored the Nationals before their 4-2 win over the Flames and the D.C. baseball team had a grand time during the entire night.
Longtime Nationals infielder Ryan Zimmerman brought the World Series trophy out to center ice along with his teammates during a pregame ceremony, which also featured a combined team photo with the Capitals.
Zimmerman was also given the duty of announcing the team’s starters in the dressing room before the game. When he finished, outfielder Adam Eaton did his best T.J. Oshie-drinking-through-his-shirt impression.
The Nationals players took advantage of the opportunity and made sure to get the most realistic experience possible. Long pours were had, hats were tossed for Jakub Vrana’s first career hat trick, and reliever Sean Doolittle saw the Zamboni and wanted to go for a spin:
Hey look I found the @Capitals bullpen cart! pic.twitter.com/48nz8REdUY
— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) November 4, 2019
Doolittle and some of his teammates also took a ride on the Zamboni between periods and showed off the World Series trophy. Oh, and they also decided to go topless for the occasion:
More shirts were removed later in the game when it was time to “unleash the fury.”
Even Alex Ovechkin got in on the shirtless fun after the game:
Gonna riiiiiiiiiide 'til I can't no more.@ovi8 // #FIGHTFINISHED pic.twitter.com/Qalw8q1uEN
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) November 4, 2019
There are three months until spring training gets under way, so that’s plenty of time for the Nationals to enjoy their offseason, much like the Capitals did in 2018. Evgeny Kuznetsov can relate.
“They look pretty sober, you know?,” Kuznetsov told NBC Sports Washington when asked about the Nationals being in the building. “When we was in their situation I pretty much did not remember anything. ... So many people say the baseball game is so boring, but for me it’s not. I like to watch them. ... I’m so happy for them.”
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.