Nationals’ James Wood makes unique franchise history after accepting Home Run Derby invitation

The Washington Nationals of the Nationals of Washington, James Wood, accepted an invitation to Home Run Derby Thursday afternoon. He then celebrated with a performance of five strokes in an 11-7 victory against the Detroit Tigers who established a new piece of franchise history.

Wood, who went 5 for 5 with a home run, has become the youngest player in the history of the Nationals to dawll a match of five strokes, at 22 and 289 days, according to the guru of the search for CBS Sports HQ Doug Clawson. This is a notable achievement given that the nationals used Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, two players who have reached the major leagues in adolescence, since the Montreal move to Washington, DC before the 2005 season.

The distinction previously belonged to the inner field player Luis García Jr., who had recorded six strokes in May 2023. (García was 23 years and 10 days at the time of his performance against the royals of Kansas City.)

Here is an overview of the Wood Home Run:

Wood entered Thursday by hitting .283 / .387 / .547 (164 ops +) with 22 circuits, 65 points struck and 12 stolen bases (out of 16 attempts). His contributions were worth around 4 victories above the replacement, according to the calculations of the baseball reference. Wood is now strikes .294 / .395 / .563.

Clawson’s research has also revealed that Wood is just the second player aged 22 or under to record more than 20 circuits, more than 10 stolen bases and more than 50 walks before the star match. The other? Mike Trout, who accomplished the feat in 2014. It is a big company to keep.

Wood will not be able to take advantage of his big day for a long time: the Nationals celebrate the July 4 holidays with a first throw of 11 a.m. against the Boston Red Sox.