This day in baseball history — 79 year wait ends in DC

On this day, September 20, 2012, the Washington Nationals clinched a spot in this year’s baseball playoff. They accomplished this by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1.

A Washington baseball team hasn’t played in the post-season since 1933. That year, the Washington Senators represented the American League in the World Series, losing to the New York Giants 4 games to 1.

What the Nationals clinched tonight was the right, at a minimum, to play in the “wild card” showdown — a single game between the two best National League teams that DO NOT win their division. The winner of this game will then join the three division winners and compete for the National League pennant.

The Nationals, of course, will want to secure a place among the National League’s final four without participating in the wild card crap-shoot, the latest absurdity to spring from the perverse minds that run the game of baseball. To do this, they need to win their division.

The task is quite doable. The Nationals now lead second place Atlanta by 5.5 games, and 6 games in the “loss column,” with only 13 games left for them to play.

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