This day in baseball history

On this day, September 22, 2012, Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez won his 20th game of the season. You’re probably asking yourself when the last time was that Washington had a 20-game winner. The answer is 1953, when Bob Porterfield won 22 games.

To put Gonzalez’s accomplishment into further perspective, Washington’s top winner last season (a decent year in which the Nats won 80 games) was John Lannan, with 10 wins. And in two seasons since baseball returned to Washington in 2005, the Nats failed to produce even a 10 game winner. Lannan led the team with 9 wins in 2009, and in 2007 relief pitcher Jon Rauch led with 8 wins.

How’s that for progress?

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