The Morning Briefing: A New Pitching Coach and Mr. Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman

Good Tuesday morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Yesterday, we asked who made the final out to secure Jordan Zimmerman's no-hitter in 2014?

If you guessed, Christian Yelich, you were correct. Christian Yelich drove a 2-and-1 count 94-mph fastball to deep left-center, which Steven Souza caught, who replaced Ryan Zimmerman in left field.

Tonight is the first game of the 2020 World Series. The start time is at 8:08 pm EST on Fox.

Special Note: Don't forget to visit GameNotes [or subscribe to GameNotes email] for our World Series special editions of GameNotes. Each GameNotes will be emailed and posted at 2:00 pm EST on Gameday. The first edition will have a chock-full of interesting facts about the 2020 World Series.

Here is the latest in the World of Washington Nationals Baseball

Washington Nationals Headlines

New Season, New Pitching Coach

Today, the Washington Nationals agreed to terms with pitching Coach Jim Hickey after the departure of former Pitching Coach Paul Menhart. Martinez, who just agreed to his own multi-year extension in September, seems to be using the leverage he now has with job security to make his own coaching staff decisions after having most of his original staff hired for him when he took over as a rookie manager in 2018. We have the latest: "Hickey, who is 59, will be joining the Washington Nationals pitching coach after spending the previous two seasons as a special assistant for player development for the LA Dodgers." [Read the full article here]

NBC Sports Washington Tod Dybas has an interesting article about the pitching philosophy of the new Pitching Coach: Jim Hickey. From the article: "...Davey Martinez called about 10 days ago. He and Hickey began working through the steps to become the Nationals new pitching coach. The job would enable him to both work again with Martinez and walk into a front-loaded starting staff. He'll impart a three-piece baseline to Max Scherzer and Tanner Rainey alike while doing so: Throw strikes, work quick, change speeds..." [Read the full article here]

Here are some additional links from around the web about the new hire:

• Martinez goes for familiarity with pitching coach Hickey (updated) via MASN Sports Washington
• The Nationals name Jim Hickey as their new pitching coach via Talk Nats
• New Washington Nationals' pitching coach Jim Hickey welcomes diverse pitchers via Federal Baseball
• Nationals hire Jim Hickey as pitching coach via Washington Post

Player Profile: Mr. Washington Nationals

In our latest player profile, we shine a spotlight on Ryan Zimmerman, aka Mr. Washington Nationals. From the article: "In the age of players hoping from teams to teams searching for the big contract, it is becoming a rarity when players stay with one team their whole career. When a player remains with the team that drafted them, they inevitably become part of the organization's fabric and leaders in the clubhouse, which can be said about Ryan Zimmerman." [Read the full player profile here]

Other Washington Nationals Headlines:

• Washington Nationals: Trea Turner has eclipsed Ian Desmond as best shortstop via District on Deck
• 2020 World Series ties to Washington Nationals and DMV via Federal Baseball
• Elusive World Series title or not, Dusty Baker deserves to be in the Hall of Fame one day via CBS Sports

Around the Horn: Major League Baseball Headlines

We will keep it light this morning on the news around the MLB as we all know that tonight is game #1 of the 2020 World Series.

Don't forget to visit GameNotes [or subscribe to GameNotes email] for our World Series special editions of GameNotes. Each GameNotes will be emailed and posted at 2:00 pm EST on Gameday. The first edition will have a chock-full of interesting facts about the 2020 World Series.

Here are some other Major League Baseball headlines:

• Perspective: The World Series has framed my life. After 44 straight, I'm sitting this one out via The Washington Post
• World Series Preview: A Clash of Coasts and Contrasts via New York Times
• Teams Are Preparing for the *Possibility* of Another Year with Alternate Sites and Without Minor League Baseball via Blecher Nation