Having fun and in first place, Desmond fondly remembers Washington

BALTIMORE - When Ian Desmond looks up into the center field bleachers at Camden Yards for the next three days, he's going to see something a little odd for a series between the Rangers and Orioles: curly W Nationals caps here and there, maybe a few bright, white No. 20 jerseys with his name stitched in red across the back.

Ever since Desmond signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Rangers in late February, savvy Nats fans have had this series circled on their calendars because it gives them an opportunity to reconnect - maybe even say thanks for a dozen years of sweat equity in the Expos/Nationals system - with a beloved player who has moved on to the next stop in his career.

"I certainly won't be surprised," Desmond said this afternoon at his locker in the Rangers clubhouse. "I spent a lot of my career there. I feel like I established a pretty good relationship there with a lot of people. Throughout the course of the season, you don't realize how much you miss certain people and how many familiar faces you really did come across."

Some close friends will be in Baltimore over the next few days, including Desmond's host family from when he toiled with the Single-A Potomac Nationals in Woodbridge, Va. He'll have a steady stream of media types seeking him out, scribes and broadcasters who remember him as a clubhouse conscience in D.C., the guy who would celebrate victories and patiently explain losses, even when more established stars sought refuge in the training room to avoid the press. And he'll have fans, folks who followed his career and appreciated the seven seasons he gave the Nationals, the way he grew up in front of their eyes, the manner in which he became engaged in community endeavors.

If you think Desmond is still wondering how he managed to last 10 days into spring training on the open market, or worrying about what he'll have ahead of him next offseason, think again. The past - including turning down multiple extension offers from the Nats, including one that could have landed him north of $100 million - is, well, the past. Desmond was always good about compartmentalizing things - boxing up a game or a series or a few at-bats, and then moving on from them. It's been no different now that he's wearing Rangers blue and playing a new position.

Frankly, he's having so much fun, he hasn't had time to dwell on what happened, or what might lie ahead.

"I think my whole career has kind of been a blessing," he said. "You look back to the year I had in 2009 in Triple-A when I went off and hit .340, and coming up to the big leagues and staying. All of that, that whole time there in Washington, back to 2004 when I got drafted, it was just a complete blessing. I think leaving was a blessing, getting a fresh start in Texas with a team that really wanted me. Just the success we're having and the way we're playing, it's a blessing I ended up there. I'm just really grateful for both places - that it didn't end ugly in Washington, in my eyes and I don't think in their eyes either. It was just one of those things where that chapter needed to come to an end and the new chapter has been great. I couldn't have asked for a smoother transition."

If the numbers count for anything, they show Desmond has assimilated well in a new environment. He's slashing .303/.355/.519 with 20 homers, 63 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in his first taste of the American League. He fits in well with a veteran-laden clubhouse where he's a good bridge between established stars and up-and-comers. And he's embraced the change that some would find so foreboding.

"There's a really good balance of fun and hard work," Desmond said. "Part of the appeal to coming here was to have Adrian (Beltre) and Prince (Fielder) and Shin-soo Choo and then obviously all the young guys. That was the appeal. From the outside looking in, how much fun they have, whether it's popups or what you see them do in the dugout, all the handshakes and stuff. It's certainly a style of baseball that we didn't play in Washington. We were very focused and not necessarily on the secret handshake type stuff. It was like, I want to go experience some of that.

"When I got there, I realized it wasn't just fun. These guys bust their butts. Spring training was a whole nother animal than I had ever seen before. You've got Adrian Beltre, an 18-, 19-year vet, and he's taking more swings and ground balls than anybody. Just the amount of work is what leads to the fun. You're so prepared, it becomes fun and you can kind of let yourself kind of express yourself a little more."

Desmond didn't worry when no one came knocking on his door with a lucrative contract deal in the offseason. He and his wife were busy raising a growing family, working to rehab the Florida home they'd just purchased. But he still thought about Washington, and couldn't get some memories of Nationals Park out of his mind: Susan, the usher for the owner's box seats, who he'd wave to just before every game, or the guy who tipped his cap from the stands every time he'd go out for pregame stretch. That's what happens when you're an organizational lifer pondering life beyond that organization.

Memories endure, and always will, Desmond said.

"Watching Bryce (Harper) grow up and watching him have such a phenomenal year last year - and not taking any credit for it, because he was the one in the box - but to be able to be part of his career, that was special to me," Desmond said. "To know that I was going to have to cut that cord was tough at the end. But when I got here, the first day I stepped on the spring training field, these guys made me feel like I'd been here my whole career. It's been just like that ever since."

When it came time to move on, when he decided to sign with the Rangers, try his hand at outfield and hope he could have a decent enough season to entice some club into making him the long-term commitment that never came last winter, Desmond thought back to a time when he changed minor league teams in the middle of the 2005 campaign, moving from low Single-A Savannah to advanced Single-A Potomac.

"In 2005, I was in the South Atlantic League with Randy Knorr as my manager," Desmond recalled. "Halfway through the season, I got moved up. Randy called me ... into his office and said, 'You've got to cut the cord from these guys. They're sending you up. Don't worry about us, we're going to be fine. You go up there and do your thing.' I took that advice with me this offseason. Yes, I do have a very large spot in my heart for all the guys on that team. But I think Randy's advice made it a little easier for me, to the point I said, 'Hey, they're gonna be fine.' Not wash your hands of them, but cut the cord and give yourself to the new team. And that was what I did from Day One and it helped me tremendously. If you carry it with you too much, then you can't give all your attention to the teammates you have here."

Desmond still maintains contact with some of his former Nationals teammates. He'll shoot a text to Jayson Werth or Harper critiquing a swing. If he's channel surfing and comes across the Nationals, he'll stop and watch. Desmond might have cut the cord, but the Nationals remain a part of who he is. It's baseball's circle of life, which creates a permanent record of a player's association with a team, one that endures even if that bond is broken by free agency, trade or waivers.

Desmond isn't sure what next offseason will bring, but he's all-in on the Rangers, who own a 5 1/2-game lead in the American League West. He's putting down some roots in the Rangers' footprint, continuing a tradition of community engagement he began as a minor leaguer and honed in the nation's capital.

"I've been able to establish some relationships in the community," he said. "We're doing some stuff with End NF (neurofibromatosis) out there, we raised some money in May with that. Haven't had quite the engagement with their youth baseball academy as I would like, but was able to make a contribution. It's in the infancy stages, you could say. Using the platform that we're given to impact other peoples' lives is kind of what we're called to do. I've tried to do that as much as I can."

Though he's become a steady contributor for the Rangers, even making the AL All-Star team in his first season in Arlington, Texas, Desmond's season got off to a rocky start. He transitioned quickly to his new position, but then found himself moved from left field to center field when a need arose. But after April, Desmond was the owner of a .229/.312/.373 slash line, not the kind of numbers that attract offseason suitors with deep pockets. But just like he did in Washington, Desmond preached that the next day or game was a new opportunity. A .345 May and a .358 June got him over .300 and the Rangers surged.

"Just play your game," he said when asked how he approached dealing with so much newness and certainty that was framed only by a season's start and end. "At the end of the day, you're gonna be what you're gonna be. That's what I rest my head on at the end of the season. I'm out to play as many games as I can and at the end, you evaluate. You don't evaluate anything now. What's 400 at-bats when you're going to get 600? What's a hundred when you're going to get 600? You evaluate at the end of the day and at the end of the season, you are what you are."