From the moment his flight arrived at Reagan National Airport this weekend, Wilson Ramos felt a tug at his heart. It only grew Sunday morning when he pulled up to Nationals Park, the place he used to call home, the place he now was revisiting one final time to officially announce his retirement from baseball.

“It’s very, very emotional to be here, around the stadium, into the stadium,” he said. “It's very emotional.”

As the current version of the Nationals was limping to its eighth straight loss, with the club making plans to promote top hitting prospect Brady House in hopes of re-energizing a languishing lineup, the sight of Ramos (not to mention fellow former teammates Adam LaRoche and Daniel Murphy) in the house brought back some much needed fond memories of a more successful period of franchise history.

Who’s the best catcher in Nats history? Ramos has to be the consensus choice. He’s the club’s all-time leader in games (578), homers (83), RBIs (320) and OPS (.743) as a catcher. He won a Silver Slugger Award, made an All-Star team, finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting, was behind the plate for the only three no-hitters in team history, not to mention Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout game.

For parts of seven seasons (2010-16), he was a steady presence in the lineup and in the catcher’s box for the franchise as it grew from a consistent loser to a consistent winner.

“He was the best offensive catcher in baseball for the stretch I feel like I played with him,” said Murphy, who overlapped with Ramos in 2016.

It’s been nearly a decade since Ramos last played for the Nationals. He bounced around five different organizations (Rays, Phillies, Mets, Tigers, Guardians) from 2017-21. And even though he hadn’t been in the majors since, he still kept chugging along the last four seasons in the minors, Venezuela, Mexico and even for the independent Long Island Ducks.

Now 37, with a ton of mileage on his body, he decided it was time to hang them up. And when it came time, he knew he wanted to do it in D.C., signing a ceremonial one-day contract with the Nationals that included several honorary moments Sunday.

“I'm very happy to be here, because I’ve got pretty good memories here,” he said. “I spent most of the years of my career here. So very, very, very happy to be here again.”

Acquired in July 2010 from the Twins for pending free agent closer Matt Capps in one of the best trades of general manager Mike Rizzo’s career, Ramos admitted Sunday he initially was upset by that news. He was blocked in Minnesota by future Hall of Famer Joe Mauer, but he still loved playing for that organization and didn’t know what to expect here.

Turns out the Nats provided him the greatest opportunity he’d ever get in baseball.

“As soon as I got traded, I was very sad at that moment, because I spent a really good time at the beginning of my career with the Twins,” he said. “But as soon as I got into this clubhouse and they opened the doors for me and gave me an opportunity to play in the big leagues … it was very, very special for me at that part.”

Asked to name his favorite moments with the Nationals, Ramos instantly mentioned Jordan Zimmermann’s no-hitter and Scherzer’s three historic pitching performances (two no-hitters, the 20-strikeout game). He didn’t mention any of his own offensive exploits. The great performances of his batterymates meant more to him, which perhaps underscores why he was so popular among teammates and staff members alike.

“I know he was a really good player, and I know he could hit a ball a long way, but all I think about when I see him is just how good of a teammate that he is,” said LaRoche, who spent 2011-14 in D.C. “Just how well he treated … clubhouse guys, employees here, superstars on the team. It didn’t matter, he was the same every day.”

Ramos’ time with the Nationals wasn’t all happy. He endured through a harrowing kidnapping episode at home in Venezuela in November 2011. Then there were the two ACL tears he suffered that prevented him from playing in two postseasons: 2012 and 2016.

Through it all, though, The Buffalo remained stoic, strong and positive.

“It’s sad to talk about injuries in my career, but it helped me to be strong mentally,” he said. “My family, too, they helped me to come back strong every single time I fell down. I woke up with more strength.”

Flanked by his wife and three children, Ramos celebrated Father’s Day by bringing them back to his old stomping grounds. He got to show them the ballpark, got to see friends old and new, got to hear the crowd serenade him again with the opening call from Phish’s “Wilson.”

And now he heads into the next chapter of his life, grateful for the memories he created during his playing days.

“My kids are growing up, and for me it’s time to teach them about life, about baseball, about what I did,” he said. “So it’s time to spend time with them. I lost a lot of time with them, so now it’s time to be part of their life.”