Washington Nationals news & notes: Patrick Corbin helped the Nats win it all in 2019…

A look back at Patrick Corbin’s time in D.C., his final start, and the World Series run in 2019…

As the final year of his 6-year/$140M deal in D.C. came to an end, manager Davey Martinez talked often about Patrick Corbin’s contributions to Washington’s World Series win in 2019, telling reporters he firmly believed the club wouldn’t have won it without the lefty.

“He did everything for us,” Martinez said in the last week of the 2024 campaign.

“He started, he came out of the bullpen in Game 7. Without him, I don’t even know how we get to [closer Daniel Hudson], really. But he went out there and competed, and he was really good. To this day, forget about the wins and losses, he went out there and competed and kept us in a lot of ballgames.

“I can go back and look at games where we made an error behind him, or didn’t quite get the hits that we needed for him. But he never complained. He just kept going out there.

“Gotta love him.”

Corbin, “was the only pitcher in Major League Baseball with 30 starts in seven seasons since 2017 (not including the 60-game 2020 season),” the Nationals highlighted in the Season in Review they put together once they’d played 162.

Corbin made 170 starts in his six seasons in the nation’s capital, with a 5.11 ERA and a 4.61 FIP in 946 ²⁄₃ IP, posting a 3.25 ERA and a 3.49 FIP in his first season with the club in 2019, but struggling to recapture that form over the rest of his time in the Nats’ rotation, with a combined 5.62 ERA and 4.92 FIP between 2020-24.

“It definitely — it kills him, right?” Martinez said of Corbin’s struggles on the mound over the last five years. “He wants to go out there and compete, he wants to go out there and help us win games. But like I said, the fact that he goes out there and does what he does and gives us the innings that he gives us — every year it was the same.

“No matter what, the guy was going to take the ball every five days. It was guaranteed. He didn’t complain about anything, he didn’t bitch about anything. He is unbelievable.”

Corbin showed signs of life over the course of the 2024 campaign, and finished strong-ish, as he limited, “left-handed opponents to a .170 batting average (16-for-94), a .235 on-base percentage and five extra-base hits over his last 20 starts,” and his manager said he could see the 35-year-old left returning for a 13th season in the majors next year.

“If he doesn’t want to pitch, shame on him,” Martinez said.

Corbin got a standing ovation when he left the mound in Nationals Park in his final outing of the season, and told reporters afterwards it meant a lot to him to have that support.

“The fans standing up there was pretty special,” Corbin said as he reminisced about his time in Washington.

“Just kind of looking back towards the seasons that I’ve had here and everything that we’ve gone through.”

“Thank you to the fans for doing that,” he added of the applause.

“I mean, it’s half my career I’ve been here. I got to experience a lot with the fans and they’ve supported us throughout the years that I’ve been here.

“So nothing but love towards them and that was really special.”

“These last six years have gone by fairly quickly, looking back now,” Corbin continued.

“But enjoyed every second of it, don’t regret anything, enjoyed my time here. And obviously to win the World Series, start a family and get to meet all you guys. So it was great. I really enjoyed it all.”

“I wouldn’t take anything back, it’s been great.”