Washington D.C. (also known as the District of Champions) added another trophy to its shelf. For the first time since 1924, a D.C. team has won the World Series, and the Washington Nationals secured their first title in franchise history.

The road to victory was not easy. In the spring, the team was objectively one of the worst in Major League Baseball (MLB). According to the Washington Post, on May 24, the Nationals had a record of 19 wins and 31 losses, with a 1.5% chance of winning the World Series.

Defying all odds, the team began to pick up steam in the summer. The Nats slowly improved their record and clinched a wild card spot in the playoffs. From there, the Nationals went on a historic playoff journey.

Taking a closer look at the final series versus the Houston Astros, the Nationals’ tale becomes all the more inspiring. The Houston team was the best in the MLB, with an impressive 107 wins in the regular season.

The Nats won the first two games of the series in Houston. With home field advantage for games three, four, and five, a Nationals victory looked plausible.

However, the Astros were not willing to go down quietly. The Nationals lost three straight games, all of the games scheduled to take place in Washington, and had to face elimination in Houston for game six.

With a convincing 7-2 victory over Houston in game six, the Nationals proved they were still in the fight, and the city was on the edge of their seats for game seven, arguably one of the most intense games of 2019.

After 162 games in the regular season, a postseason run, and the six previous games of the World Series, everything came down to this one game. The Astros had home field advantage, and held a 2-0 lead for roughly two thirds of the game.

However, in true underdog fashion, at the top of the 7th inning, the Nationals began to do what they did best all season long and took the lead. The Nationals controlled the rest of the game and finished the fight with a 6-2 victory over the Astros.

In total, the Nats faced five elimination games in the playoffs, where the season could have come to an end if they did not win. In addition to the high stakes of these elimination games, the Nationals were trailing in each one, making their postseason defined by epic comebacks.

In May, the team was 19-35, and fought tooth and nail for a wild card spot in the postseason. Throughout the playoffs, the Nats faced five elimination games, trailed in all five, and still came out with the ‘curly W.’ In the World Series, the D.C. team was the first in history to win all four of their World Series wins on the road. The resilience of this team has made Washington D.C. proud, and serves as a reminder to never give up the fight.