Serving the Nationals

Story and photos by Julian McKenzie



SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It's a couple of minutes past 9:00 p.m. on a Wednesday night and members of the Syracuse Chiefs baseball team are about to leave the field, but not before they celebrate something that's happened 50 times this season: a win. Some players high-five each other, some do fist pumps. The subdued and basic celebrations are understandable.

The Chiefs, the Triple-A minor affiliate of the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball, still have a losing record at 50-61 and sit dead last in the International League North Division. The team's attendance record is near the bottom of the IL, averaging under 4,000 fans a night.

There isn't much to celebrate with the Chiefs from a team perspective and that suits Chiefs general manager Jason Smorol just fine. In fact, he's got ambitions for a red-hot August with a drastic turnaround.

"I'm predicting a 30-6 August record," said Smorol after the victory, tongue in cheek. "Worst to first, comeback kids, Syracuse Chiefs."

Smorol's Chiefs are already 2-1 for the month of August, which means his prediction is off to a good start.

The team's latest victory, a 6-1 win over the Buffalo Bisons—the Toronto Blue Jays minor affiliate, was tied 1-1 until the sixth inning where Chiefs third baseman Matt Skole hit a two-run home run, his 15th of the year before the Chiefs added three more runs by game's end. Skole is a 2011 fifth round pick of the Nationals and is in his second season with the Chiefs. He has yet to be called up by Washington.

Minor league teams are at the mercy of their major league affiliates. The bigger, major league club won't hesitate to call on a player from the minors if needed, even if they're performing to the benefit of the farm team. Smorol said minor league teams don't even get to pick the positions their players play or when their pitchers pitch. The goal of minor league teams is to develop their players into reinforcement and ammunition for their overseeing empire.

Two of the Nationals current marquee players, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, cut their teeth in Syracuse before graduating to the big leagues. When the Chiefs were the minor league affiliate of the Blue Jays, star players such as Roy Halladay, Carlos Delgado, and Chris Carpenter were developed into major leaguers.

Smorol can name a bunch of young players on his team who have already made the trek from Syracuse to Washington, including pitchers Koda Glover, Lucas Giolito, and shortstop Trea Turner who is currently up with the Nationals but still leads the Chiefs in batting average.

"We're only here to serve the Washington Nationals," Smorol said. "We want that hot player, that hot pitcher, to go to the Washington Nationals. That's what we're here for. I shake their hands, I hope I never see them again."

In the meantime, Smorol is left to control what he can control, which is giving the best experience possible for the fans. The Chiefs have even extended their lease at NBT Bank Stadium through to 2026, albeit with raised costs in rent—the team could pay up to $200,000 annually. It's almost five times as much than the present price tag. It's the price to pay to house fans and the future of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball in Smorol's stable.