<span><span>“First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.” Expressions such as this characterized the legend and lore of baseball in the nation's capital, from the pioneering Washington Nationals of 1859 to the Washington Senators, whose ignominious departure in 1971 left Washingtonians bereft of the national pastime for 33 years. This reflective book gives the complete history of the game in the D.C. area, from the city’s 1924 World Series championship to the story of the Homestead Grays, a perennial Negro League pennant winner from the late 1930s to the mid 1940s that consistently outplayed the Senators. New chapters describe the present day Nationals, who, in 2012, won the National League East led by the arms of Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg and the bats of Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and rookie Bryce Harper.</span></span><br /><span><span> </span></span>