No sport dives into statistics with the same enthusiasm as baseball and in May it was estimated the Washington Nationals’ chances of winning the World Series were less than 0.1 per cent. Their record then read 19 wins and 31 losses and the public, to quote a member of the Nationals’ staff, were “shovelling dirt” on manager Davey Martinez. Ninety five years of waiting looked sure to become 96.



But Major League Baseball franchises hunt for marginal gains and somehow the Nationals made that minute percentage work for them. Nearly three weeks ago, thousands mobbed the streets of the United States’ capital as Martinez and his players paraded the World Series trophy, a few days after the end of a seven-game shoot-out with the Houston Astros. The city had waited almost a century to see it and the scenes were remarkable, played out against the backdrop of a sun-soaked White House.



Tucked away in the throng was a man who, without the exposure of...