Federal Baseball · Apr 4, 2022
Recalling the Washington Nationals’ first game in 2005...
Photo by Rich Pilling /MLB via Getty ImagesWASHINGTON – On the first pitch of the game, center fielder Brad Wilkerson hit a single to right field off Philadelphia pitcher Jon Lieber on April 4, 2005.
And thus the Nationals were underway in the first regular season game in their history after the team moved from Montreal.
That first game came away from home as the Nationals played their first three seasons at RFK Stadium, which hadn’t been in use on a regular basis for baseball since 1971.
After that first hit by Wilkerson, Lieber retired shortstop Cristian Guzman, second baseman José Vidro, and right fielder José Guillén.