Relive "Nationals Classics": The best of the best of 2016

Some people consider the week between Christmas and New Year's Day to be the best of the whole year. Some time off work surrounded by friends and family.

Well, if that's the case, then for Nationals fans, it will be even better because we're bringing out the best of the best from the past year for 2016's last slate of "Nationals Classics."

We're packing a whole lot of baseball in this year's final week. Grand slams? Check. Extra-inning walk-offs? Got 'em. Historic feats? Of course.

Here's the full list of "Nationals Classics" on MASN (I checked it twice):

Monday, Dec. 26, noon - The highlight of Bryce Harper's tear through the first month of the season had to be his grand slam against the Braves on April 14. The slam was Harper's first of his career and also his 100th home run, making him the eighth-youngest player in major league history to reach the century mark.

Monday, Dec. 26, 5:30 p.m. - It didn't take long for Harper to hit his second grand slam. Five days to be exact. Harper went deep with the bases loaded as part of a four-homer seventh inning at Marlins Park on April 19. Jayson Werth, Wilson Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman also smacked longballs in the seventh as the Nats beat the Fish 7-0.

Monday, Dec. 26, 8:30 p.m. - The Nats can pitch, too. On April, 23, Tanner Roark showed just how good the Nats can pitch by striking out a career-high 15 batters over seven innings. The Nats got all the offense they needed from a Zimmerman two-run double in the first on their way to a 2-0 win over the Twins.

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 9 a.m. - The Nationals would need a little more offense and a lot more innings the following day in order to beat the Twins. This back-and-forth instant classic included a Harper pinch-hit home run in the ninth and a Chris Heisey walk-off homer in the 16th for a 6-5 victory.

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 11 a.m. - The drama continued in this May 9 game against the Tigers in the District. After the Nats rallied to pick up a struggling Stephen Strasburg and Harper was ejected in the ninth, Clint Robinson delivered a walk-off home run to give the Nats a 5-4 win and the Tigers their seventh straight loss.

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2 p.m. - But the Nationals weren't done with the Tigers just yet. Facing his former team on May 11, Max Scherzer provided his now annual historic performance of the season. With a career-high 20 strikeouts, Scherzer tied the major league nine-inning record, led the Nats to a 3-2 win and gave us the phrase of the year: "Strikeouts are sexy."

Thursday, Dec. 29, 11 a.m. - In perhaps the best game of the year, the Nationals found themselves in battle with the Cubs in a matinee game on June 15 at Nats Park. Some late-inning drama was just the precursor to Werth's 12th-inning heroics, delivering a walk-off 5-4 win and another memorable phrase of the season that will not be repeated on this blog.

Thursday, Dec. 29, 3:30 p.m. - Strasburg left a no-hit bid after 6 2/3 innings in his return from the disabled list on July 3 against the Reds. The bullpen carried that bid into the eighth inning as the Nats won 12-1 and Strasburg improved to 11-0.

Thursday, Dec. 29, 7 p.m. - Who says you need a four-bagger for a walk-off to be dramatic? On July 23, Stephen Drew delivered a pinch-hit walk-off triple in the ninth to give the Nats a 3-2 win over the Padres.

Friday, Dec. 30, 11:30 p.m. - While this classic game happened a couple of years ago, it's still always nice to relive "Nationals Classics" of seasons past. After a pitchers' duel and trading blows in the ninth inning, the Nationals were able to walk off the Mets when Zimmerman scored the winning run on a wild pitch on July 17, 2012.

Saturday, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. - Trea Turner is known for his speed on the bases. But as MASN's Dan Kolko loves to point out, the speedster also has "sneaky pop." Turner showed off that pop on Sept. 9 with a walk-off home run against the Phillies.

Sunday, Jan. 1, 5 p.m. - After all the drama that the 2016 regular season brought, it finally culminated on Sept. 24 when the Nationals clinched their third National League East division title in five years with a 6-1 win over the Pirates. Here's to a repeat in 2017!