Memories from the greatest month in Nationals history

It's been roughly 32 hours now since the Nationals won the World Series, and I'm not sure it's really sunk in to anyone yet that it actually happened.

Everything remains such a blur, the tension of the first six innings of Game 7, the shock of the three-batter sequence that flipped the game in the Nats' favor in the top of the seventh, the nervous energy of waiting for those final nine outs to be recorded and then the celebration that ensued.

Really, the entire postseason remains a blur. It's been exactly one month since the National League wild card game. Think about how you felt that night, especially as the Nationals' season was four outs away from being over before any other postseason game had been played. Now think about everything else that happened over the next month. It's mindboggling.

I've been trying to replay all of it in my own mind over the last day, and what stands out are not only the thrilling events that took place on the field but the behind-the-scenes moments that took place elsewhere.

Here's what I'll remember most about the greatest month in Nationals history ...

The double-roar at the wild card game
You know the moment. Two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Bases loaded. The Nationals trailing 3-1. Juan Soto at the plate. What I'll always remember, though, is the crowd reaction to the play.

There was the initial roar as Soto's line drive to right landed on grass, the realization that the Nats had probably just tied the game. But then came the bounce and the skip past Trent Grisham's glove. And then came the second roar. It was louder than the first, which was already ridiculously loud. It was the realization that the Nats weren't about to merely tie the game. They were about to take the lead.

I'll never forget that 1-2 punch of noise. I remember thinking it was the loudest reaction I'd ever heard in that ballpark, louder than the roar for Jayson Werth's walk-off homer in the 2012 National League Division Series. And in hindsight, I think it may still stand as the loudest singular moment of the entire postseason run.

The tension of Game 2 of the NLDS
This might've been the best game of the entire run. Really. It was an exceptionally well-played game, with star power all over the place. The Nationals, after dropping Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, 6-0, desperately needed to win. They got six fantastic innings out of Stephen Strasburg, who struck out 10, didn't walk anybody and carried a shutout into the bottom of the sixth only three days after he threw three scoreless innings in the wild card game.

The Nats jumped on Clayton Kershaw for three early runs, the RBI hits coming from Howie Kendrick, Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon. (Boy, was that a sign of things to come, or what?) Then they had to hang on for dear life to close out the game.

How'd they do that? With Sean Doolittle pitching around a towering Max Muncy homer in the seventh. With Max Scherzer coming out of the bullpen - remember how you felt when you saw that? - in the eighth and striking out the side. And with Daniel Hudson getting into a ninth-inning jam, intentionally walking Muncy - who represented the tying run! - and then walking Will Smith on four pitches to load the bases and put the winning run on base, before striking out Corey Seager on a slider at the end of an eight-pitch at-bat that raised everybody's blood pressure to unhealthy levels.

That was a remarkable ballgame.

A quiet moment amid the NLDS clinch
Game 5 of the NLDS, of course, was remarkable in itself. Rendon and Soto homered on consecutive pitches off Kershaw to tie the game in the eighth, then Kendrick launched his grand slam off Joe Kelly - Joe Kelly! - in the top of the 10th. That set off a wild celebration inside a very cramped visitors' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium.

What I'll remember about that celebration, though, was how Hudson mostly stayed off to the side. He was busy getting his things together, because as he told a couple of us on the beat, he was flying to Phoenix first thing in the morning. His wife was getting ready to give birth to the couple's third daughter.

The plan, Hudson told us matter-of-factly, was for Sara to give birth that next day, the off-day between rounds. And as long as everything went smoothly, he'd make it to St. Louis in time for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

This wasn't a bombshell. There was no thought whatsoever that this might create a national firestorm. It was merely a simple act by a father who was going to take care of important business around his work schedule. We wished Hudson well and said we'd see him in St. Louis. By the time he finally arrived there, the story had taken on a stunning life of its own.

"Say Cheese" in St. Louis
Hudson, of course, didn't make it to Game 1 of the NLCS. And because he remained in Phoenix with Sara and new daughter Millie, it was up to Doolittle to close out a 2-0 victory over the Cardinals. The lefty was outstanding that night, retiring all four batters he faced, and so he was brought into the interview room at Busch Stadium.

The only problem: Doolittle was brought in alongside Aníbal Sánchez, who had carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and catcher Yan Gomes. The first eight questions all were directed at Sánchez or Gomes, so Doolittle was left sitting there on the dais with nothing to do.

And so the lefty reacted as only he could. Wanting to prove to his wife, Eireann, that he really was in the interview room, he took out his phone and took a photo of all of us. I'm sitting in the front row trying not to laugh hysterically, and all I could think to do in that moment was smile as widely as possible. My MASNsports.com colleague Bobby Blanco, who was videoing the press conference from the back of the room, stuck his hand out and waved at the camera.

Doolittle snapped the photo and texted it to Eireann, who tweeted it. It's something.

The pennant-clinching ceremony
There were so many "firsts" experienced over the last month, and few were more memorable than the first pennant-clinching celebration in Nationals history. That it took place on home turf made it all the more special for fans, especially given the way the World Series played out with zero wins by the home team.

The trophy presentation, of course, took place on the field so everyone could experience it. Which meant a lot of extra people were allowed on the field postgame, including media. We entered via the tunnel right next to the visitors' dugout, then made our way around the backstop and over by first base to watch the ceremony, which was taking place on a wheeled-in stage right by second base.

Once the trophy had been presented and the crowd roared, I realized the players were exiting in the opposite direction, toward third base. So I turned around and began making my way over there to join in the on-field interviews. And I realized the quickest way there was to cut straight across the diamond.

Now, you need to understand something. I've stood on that field probably close to 1,000 times over the last dozen years. But I've always stood on the warning track or just barely on the grass. In all my years covering this team, I had never set foot in fair territory at Nationals Park. And now I was walking across the infield moments after they won the pennant.

I made a point to walk directly over the pitcher's mound, stepping on the rubber. And what struck me was this: Even at the end of a ballgame, the mound was absolutely pristine. There was no hole in front of the rubber, no imperfections. John Turnour and his groundskeeping crew do a remarkable job.

Watching them watch from afar
The video popped up on Twitter long after Game 1 of the World Series had ended. It was posted by Johnny DiPuglia, the Nationals' vice president of international operations, taken by someone at the Nationals' player academy in the Dominican Republic.

The video showed more than a dozen teenaged Nationals prospects watching the World Series on television, watching Soto's fifth-inning double off the left field wall, which turned a 3-2 lead over the Astros into a 5-2 lead.

The kids went crazy, jumping up and down, bouncing off each other. And watching the video, you understood how a baseball organization extends so far beyond the major league field. These kids seemingly were so far removed from what was taking place in Houston, and yet they were not removed at all.

They're part of the same organization. They're friends with Soto, who was one of them only a few years ago. Every one of those kids in that moment realized the 20-year-old doubling off the wall in the World Series could be them some day. How remarkable is that?

Sharing the World Series experience
The results may not have turned out how everyone around here hoped - they couldn't have won at least one home game? - but that didn't diminish the experience for so many who got a chance to attend the first World Series games in Washington in 86 years.

Walking around the concourses before all three games, it was obvious what this meant. Everyone was just so appreciative of the opportunity to witness this in person (albeit at an exceptionally high cost). Friends. Couples. Families. Strangers. It didn't matter.

And that also extended to Houston, where more than a few Nationals fans found their way into Minute Maid Park to actually see their team win in person. You could hear them in scattered pockets during the games. But until the post-Game 7 celebration, when they all made their way down toward the third base dugout, you didn't fully appreciate just how many there were. Best guess: A couple thousand Nats fans got to see the clincher live.

Behind the scenes after Game 7
The images and moments and conversations that will resonate with me:

* Ryan Zimmerman and his father, Keith, on the field after the trophy celebration, video-calling his mother, Cheryl, who was watching back home in Virginia Beach. Cheryl Zimmerman, as you probably know, has had multiple sclerosis since Ryan was 10. He is the person he is because of his parents, and you can only imagine what that moment meant to all of them.

* Mike Rizzo sharing what he was thinking and doing after Trea Turner was called out for interference in Game 6. The specific details can't be shared publicly, but let's just say Rizzo said and typed some things on his phone that will cost him some money. And he will happily pay up.

* Scherzer explaining what he went through to be able to pitch three days after his neck locked up on him. But especially his incredulous reaction when I mentioned that some managers might've had a shorter leash on him once things got a little hairy in Game 7: "Really? When would you have pulled me?" Uh, I wouldn't have, Max. Sorry for even raising the topic.

* All the people you've never seen or heard of who are indispensable members of the organization joining in the celebration. Harolyn Cardozo, officially special assistant for major league administration but unofficially the team mom who makes the entire operation run. Mike Wallace and his entire clubhouse staff, many of whom have been with the team since Montreal. Rob McDonald, the team's traveling secretary (and so much more), also since Montreal, and his assistant, Ryan Wiebe. Jonathan Tosches, who started out as a facilities manager at Space Coast Stadium but now is the team's manager of advance scouting and was responsible for detecting the way Strasburg was tipping his pitches in the first inning of Game 6. Mark Scialabba and Ryan Thomas, who started out as interns and now run the entire organization's farm system. Sam Mondry-Cohen and his analytics team, who play a far greater role in this supposedly "old-school" franchise's success than most realize.

Yes, the players and the manager and the GM and the owners are front and center and get the most attention. But this championship does not happen without the efforts of so many others who work behind the scenes. And for them, this moment was just as significant.

Watch the parade: MASN will broadcast the parade celebrating the Nationals' World Series championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The even will also be live-streamed on MASNsports.com.