The Washington Senators, also known as the Washington Nationals, played in Boundary Field in the 19th century. In 1892, they were under the National League. In 1901, they would play in the American League and would be The Washington Nationals. Its saving grace came with pitcher Walter Johnson, who almost single handedly pulled the team out of a nine season slump. Clark Griffith became the manager for the Senators in 1912 and led them to become a winning team.
In 1899, after 8 years as a franchise, the Washington Senators had never finished .500 or better. The decision had to be made that the Senators would be one of 4 teams eliminated from the National League. After a year the team became an American League team known as the Nationals. However, the fans still called the team the Senators even though the team called themselves the Nationals. 50 years later the team finally started calling itself the Senators again.
Between 1912 and 1913 the Senators finally placed second place in their league. The major reason for this improvement was Walter Johnson’s best back to back seasons and a new manager Clark Griffith. Johnson pulled the "Nats" into the first division with a 32-12 season. He had 303 strikeouts, 1.39 ERA in 1912 and an amazing 36-7, 1.09 ERA and 243 strikeouts in 346 innings in 1913. Griffith managed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in baseball history by leading the Nationals to second place. Griffith was manager for nine years and only finished below fifth place twice.
