The success of the Nationals over the last year, not to mention the emergence of both Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper as two of the most recognizable faces in baseball, has led to plenty of increased attention and coverage of the franchise. That includes a just-published book by local writer Elliott Smith, whose "Beltway Boys: Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and the Rise of the Nationals" is now on the shelves and for sale on Amazon.Smith, who grew up in Richmond, has been covering a variety of sports in the D.C. area for the last two years for multiple outlets, including the Associated Press and the Washington Times. He previously covered Seattle's pro teams for The Olympian newspaper. Oh, and he also was my colleague and editor at The Daily Northwestern many moons ago.
Since Elliott was kind enough to interview me during his reporting of the book, I thought it would only be appropriate to turn the tables and interview him about the process of writing it, about the mad scramble to update and finish the book while the playoffs were still underway and then to offer him a chance to make fun of me from my college days.
Enjoy the interview, and please check out the book. It's a great read! ...
MARK ZUCKERMAN: You've been in D.C. for a couple of years now, and you've covered all kinds of different sports. What made you want to write a book specifically about the Nationals?
ELLIOTT SMITH: Well, the way this all came about was, I was working Triumph (the publisher) on something else, and they said: "You're in D.C. Do you have any ideas about the Nationals?" This
