Yes, Washington, D.C. has changed. While only the old heads still know it as Chocolate City, like many popular Black hubs, set in urban American, most of DC has been gentrified. Baseball has also been gentrified. Yet a mini-revolution is taking place in our Nation’s Capital, and, unlike the famous Gil Scott-Heron poem, it is being televised. We’ll, sort of, if you can find the Nats’ games on whatever streaming app that shows baseball in 2026. DC is 42% Black. And the Nats are one of the only teams with four Black American players in their starting rotation. The Nats have seven Black-Americans on their 40-man roster. All-Stars CJ Abrams and James Woods are bona fide stars. Josiah Gray, currently on the injured list, was a 2023 All-Star. Daylen Lile and Nasim Nuñez are steady contributors and becoming fan favorites in Nats Park. Prospects Harry Ford, Sever King, Miguel Sime Jr., Elijah Green and T.J. White (pictured above) are just a sample of the Black players to watch on Nats’ MiLB teams. The Nats are under the eye of Paul Toboni. Toboni, 36, became President of Baseball Operations on October 1, 2025. He is young and comes with the reputation of being one of the brightest executives in the game. He is tasked with turning around a team with significant raw potential but few recent wins.
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