Sadly, we lost a great one when Jack Tavenner passed away recently at the age of 77. Known to his baseball friends as NatsJack, he was a Washington Senators’ fan from the time he grew up in Northern Virginia. He played baseball through high school at Falls Church as a catcher at the same time as the Senators relocated to Texas. Like many of us, he had no D.C. baseball until the Expos relocated to Washington in 2005. At that time, NatsJack was living and working in Orlando, Florida — but he was instantly a Nats fan … again. Strategically, his home was less than a 45-minute drive to the team’s first Spring Training home in Viera.
For those who followed the Washington Nationals from their inception, NatsJack was our eyes and ears every Spring Training and during Fall Instructs. He became that guy who wanted to meet other Nats fans. Most times he could be seen on his annual road trips to Nats Park or at the Nats facility in West Palm Beach with his friend, Gator John.
Every player in Viera knew NatsJack and liked him. Most thought he worked for the team. Back in the day, Jack would give us his sleeper picks and players you never heard of who he thought would be a good player. Like me, he was fond of LHP Jake Bennett after seeing him pitching on a backfield where NatsJack would often do his scouting for the fans who were not there. He would say he didn’t like to give an opinion unless he saw the player.
His love of dogs and the younger version of Bryce Harper was the perfect combination to name his puppy at the time, ‘Harper’. When Harper got sick in November, he lost him to kidney failure. From that point forward, it was Jack and his rescue dog, ‘Rizzo’. His final social media post was about his Facebook being hacked, and this Twitter post, and then he stopped answering messages in late-December:
During the dark years of 2007-to-2010, Jack stayed positive in what the team was building, and even into the second rebuild that began in July of 2022 NatsJack was optimistic in the Juan Soto trade and the draft picks. Unfortunately, Jack won’t join our 2025 chats like he did a year ago on the 2024 roster, or when he would suggest articles that I should write about. Our last conversation was about the MASN debacle. Before that, his last Nats’ comment, as always was staying positive, was that he loved watching Nasim Nunez play defense.
Sorry for the delay in responding. I don’t prognosticate much, especially about players that I don’t get to observe for a time. It’s what I miss most about Viera in extended Spring Training and Fall Instructs allowed me to watch a lot of unknowns up close and personal.
— Jack told me recently
Well, I sure like to prognosticate. NatsJack liked to tell you what he saw with his own eyes. He believed in the direction that the team was going, and that this rebuild would get the Nats to the next championship quicker. Again, a positive thinker. He thought that general manager Mike Rizzo would build it better, having done it before.
In the Natsmosphere, Jack told me he only followed TalkNats and was on a Fan Page on Facebook called Nats Baseball True Fans which was on his ‘follow’ list. Perfect for NatsJack. He was a man of the people. Positive until the end. A true fan. When the Nationals won the 2019 World Series, NatsJack commemorated the moment with his first tattoo at the age of 72. When friends saw him at Spring Training of 2020 before the COVID shutdown, he was sharing that artwork on his arm. While he joked about his love of beer, his dogs, friends, and the Nationals were the loves of his life.
“Excellent take on everything, especially acknowledging the incremental gains.”
— Jack told me on one of my articles
Here is the thing, if you believe in the message, you can stay positive. NatsJack was one of the “In Rizzo I Trust” people. He was patient, and believed in better times ahead. If there was a Mt. Rushmore of Nats’ fans, I would nominate NatsJack.
Rest in peace NatsJack, you will be missed.
