The Washington Nationals were a bad smallball team in 2018. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com makes a convincing case that a failure to execute some of baseball’s most fundamental tasks was instrumental in their underwhelming season.
Smallball pops up in baseball discourse every now and again, most often as a complimentary talking point reserved for teams that don’t hit home runs. Regardless, all teams play smallball – moving runners over, going first to third, avoiding outs on the basepaths – but teams who struggle in these areas often beat themselves with unforced errors and sloppy play.