2020 Washington Mystics season
This WNBA season will feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games. However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24.


2020 Washington Mystics season
The Mystics were without star Elena Delle Donne for the season, as she sat out due to COVID-19 concerns. Expectations were lowered when it was announced that the 2019 MVP would be out for the season. However, the Mystics defied those expectations in their first three games, winning all three. However, the season took a drastic turn for the worse after that, with the team going 1–11 in their August games. At 4–11 overall, the Mystics were on the outside looking in for the playoffs. The Mystics went 5–2 in September, including a four game win-streak to finish the season and secure the eight seed in the playoffs. As the eight seed, they lost in the first round to the Phoenix Mercury.


2020 Washington Nationals season
The 2020 Washington Nationals season was the Nationals' 16th season as the baseball franchise of Major League Baseball in the District of Columbia, the 13th season at Nationals Park, and the 52nd since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team entered this season as the defending World Series champions.


2020 Washington Nationals season
On March 12, 2020, MLB announced that because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks in addition to the remainder of spring training being cancelled. Four days later, it was announced that the start of the season would be pushed back indefinitely due to the recommendation made by the CDC to restrict events of more than 50 people for eight weeks. On June 23, commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally implemented a 60-game season.


2020 Washington Nationals season
Players reported to training camps on July 1 to resume spring training and prepare for a July 23 Opening Day. On September 19, the team suffered its 31st loss, assuring them of finishing the season with a losing record, their first since 2011. On September 22 in game 2 of a doubleheader, the Nationals would get their 4,000th regular season win in franchise history on a walk-off home run by Yadiel Hernández to beat the Phillies 8–7. On September 24, the Nationals were eliminated from playoff contention, making them the 20th defending champion unable to repeat back to back titles.


2020 Washington Nationals season
The Nationals finished the regular season with a record of 26–34, giving them a 4th-place finish in the NL East as a result of the Nationals' 6–4 head-to-head against the Mets, who also finished 26–34 (.433). The Nationals's .433 winning percentage was the lowest for a defending champion since the 1998 Florida Marlins went 54–108 (.333).


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
The day after the Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series on October 30, 2019, in Houston, Texas, nine members of that championship team officially filed for free agency: pitchers Jeremy Hellickson, Daniel Hudson, Fernando Rodney, and Jonny Venters; infielders Asdrúbal Cabrera, Brian Dozier, Howie Kendrick, and Anthony Rendon; and outfielder Gerardo Parra. On November 1, the Nationals announced they would not exercise their share of the 2020 mutual option for first baseman Matt Adams, making Adams a free agent as well.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
The Nationals also declined club options over first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and catcher Yan Gomes, who also became free agents, on November 2. They exercised club options to keep pitcher Sean Doolittle and outfielder Adam Eaton under contract for the 2020 season. Hellickson chose to retire instead of pursuing another career opportunity, citing a nagging shoulder injury.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
Considerable media speculation swirled around whether the Nationals would re-sign Rendon, who was a finalist in National League Most Valuable Player balloting, and Strasburg, who was the World Series MVP. Washington general manager Mike Rizzo expressed public interest in bringing back both players, who rejected one-year qualifying offers from the Nationals. However, in an early-December interview with Donald Dell, Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner said the club "can only afford to have one of those two guys", downplaying the possibility that both could fit into Washington's 2020 payroll.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
On December 9, 2019, at the annual winter meetings in Strasburg's hometown of San Diego, the Nationals announced they had come to terms with Strasburg on a new, seven-year pact, reported to be worth $245 million, a record for a free agent pitcher. At the press conference making the announcement, Rizzo also confirmed that the Nationals had re-signed Kendrick to what was reported as a one-year major league deal. Kendrick's signing was officially announced the following day, along with the re-signing of Gomes to a two-year deal. The team also re-signed Zimmerman and Cabrera to one-year major league deals and brought back Hudson on a two-year guarantee. Rendon ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Angels on a seven-year deal.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
The Nationals were also linked in media reports to other free agents, including first baseman Justin Smoak (ultimately signed by the Milwaukee Brewers), third basemen Josh Donaldson (ultimately signed by the Minnesota Twins) and Maikel Franco (ultimately signed by the Kansas City Royals), along with starting pitchers Madison Bumgarner (ultimately signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks) and Zack Wheeler (ultimately signed by the Philadelphia Phillies).


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
Eight Nationals were eligible for salary raises through the arbitration system during the offseason: pitchers Roenis Elías, Koda Glover, Javy Guerra, Joe Ross, and Hunter Strickland; infielders Wilmer Difo and Trea Turner; and outfielder Michael A. Taylor. The Nationals signed Strickland and Difo to new one-year contracts. Hours before the deadline for teams to tender new contracts to arbitration-eligible players, on December 2, Glover announced his retirement from professional baseball at age 26. The Nationals tendered contracts to all eligible players except Glover and Guerra, who were non-tendered, although Guerra later re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league pact. The Nationals agreed to one-year contracts for each of their tendered players, avoiding arbitration.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
Within days, the Nationals signed a new reliever, former Oakland Athletics minor league closer Kyle Finnegan. Finnegan was the first free agent signing of the offseason announced by the team, on December 8, 2019. The Nationals added to their bullpen again on January 3, 2020, announcing they had signed veteran Will Harris to a three-year contract. On January 29, the team acquired reliever Ryne Harper from the Minnesota Twins.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Team news
The Nationals added new blood to their position player roster as well, announcing the signings of infielders Starlin Castro to a two-year deal and Eric Thames to a one-year deal on January 7 and 8, respectively.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Spring training
The Nationals held spring training at their facility at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida, which they share with the Houston Astros. It was their fourth year at the facility.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Spring training
On February 12, the Nationals announced they had invited the following players on minor league contracts to participate in major league spring training: left-handed pitchers Fernando Abad and Sam Freeman; right-handed pitchers Dakota Bacus, Bryan Bonnell, Wil Crowe, Paolo Espino, Jhonatan Germán, Javy Guerra, David Hernandez, Kevin Quackenbush, and Derek Self; catchers Welington Castillo, Taylor Gushue, and Jakson Reetz; infielders Luis García, Drew Ward, and Jacob Wilson; outfielders Yadiel Hernández and Mac Williamson; infielder/outfielders Emilio Bonifácio and Brandon Snyder; and outfielder/left-handed pitcher J. B. Shuck.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Offseason, Spring training
On March 12, the remainder of spring training was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Nationals had a record of 6–11–2 before this happened. When the new schedule was announced for the 2020 season, it included three new exhibition games against the Phillies and Orioles, which count as Spring Training games.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Opening Day
The Nationals' season started out in unceremonious fashion: Juan Soto, their starting left fielder and co-recipient of the 2019 Babe Ruth Award, tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the injured list hours before first pitch on Opening Day on July 23 versus the New York Yankees. Despite testing negative on follow-up rapid testing, Soto was unable to participate in baseball activities due to MLB and District of Columbia health protocols.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Opening Day
The first game of the season was itself frustrating for the Nationals, who were held to one run—a solo home run from right fielder Adam Eaton—by Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, whom they had beaten twice during the 2019 World Series, before heavy rains forced the game to be called midway through the sixth inning. Nationals starter Max Scherzer was shaky and gave up all four of New York's runs in the loss, three of them batted in by Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, a frequent bugbear of the Washington ace.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Opening Day, Opening Day lineup
Juan Soto tested positive for COVID-19 and thus was placed on the IL.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
After dropping their first game of the season and losing outfielder Juan Soto to the injured list with a positive COVID-19 test, the Nationals' woes continued as ace Stephen Strasburg, the reigning World Series MVP, was scratched from his first start on July 25 with a nerve issue in his throwing hand. Erick Fedde stepped in as the July 25 starter versus the New York Yankees, contributing four innings in a 9–2 victory for Washington. The Nationals knocked out Yankees starter James Paxton in the second inning.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Center fielder Víctor Robles had three hits, including a two-run double off Paxton and a two-run home run off the left field foul pole against reliever Mike King. Tanner Rainey picked up the win in relief with a scoreless inning. Kyle Finnegan made his major league debut with a scoreless ninth inning for the Nationals. Despite an outstanding 6⅓ innings of work from starter Patrick Corbin in the rubber game on July 26, the Nationals didn't get much offense going against the Yankees despite an early home run off Jonathan Loaisiga from shortstop Trea Turner.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
After Corbin allowed a seventh-inning home run to Gleyber Torres, his only run given up and just his second baserunner allowed, manager Davey Martinez hooked him in favor of Will Harris, making his Nationals debut after signing a three-year contract early in the offseason. Harris gave up a game-tying solo home run by Luke Voit. Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle took the loss as Torres knocked in another run on a single in the eighth inning and Zack Britton shut the door for New York.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
On July 27, the Nationals signed utilityman Josh Harrison to a one-year deal and added him directly to the major league roster, optioning extra catcher Raudy Read to the alternate training site in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Nationals starter Aníbal Sánchez surrendered four solo home runs over five innings, taking the 4–1 loss, as the Nationals opened an interleague series against the Toronto Blue Jays later that day.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
With former National Tanner Roark starting for the Blue Jays in the second game of the home-and-home series, the Nationals again managed to scratch out just one run, with second baseman Starlin Castro committing two fielding errors that contributed to three unearned runs of five scored by the Blue Jays in the game. Washington's starter, Austin Voth, gave up two earned runs over five innings for the loss.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
With Canadian coronavirus protocols preventing the Blue Jays from playing home games in Toronto and improvements to Sahlen Field, their temporary home in Buffalo, New York, still under construction, Nationals Park hosted the Blue Jays as the "home team" for the next two games. The first of the two, July 29, was also the first test for the Nationals of a rule adopted for the 2020 season under which a baserunner starts each half-inning of extra innings on second base.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Neither team managed to score over the first nine innings behind excellent starts for the Nationals' Max Scherzer and Blue Jays rookie Nate Pearson, sending the game into extra innings. Right fielder Adam Eaton finally broke the tie for the Nationals in the tenth inning with a two-out infield single that scored automatic runner Emilio Bonifácio. The Nationals went on to win 4–0, with third baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera tripling home three more runs that inning before Rainey dispatched the "home" team in the bottom of the tenth.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Nationals won again on July 30, also as the "away" team in their own ballpark, as Castro went 4-for-5 and left fielder Michael A. Taylor hit a two-run homer off Toronto starter Hyun-jin Ryu in the 6–4 contest. Fedde started again in place of Strasburg, but it was reliever Ryne Harper who earned the win, his first as a National, as Fedde was pulled in the fourth inning after giving up two runs. Nationals closer Daniel Hudson locked down his first save of the campaign.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Nationals were set to have their first roadtrip of the season starting July 31, visiting the division-rival Miami Marlins, but the series was postponed after several Marlins players and personnel tested positive for COVID-19. They finished July with a 3–4 record, third in the National League East Division.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
After opening August with three straight days off due to the Miami Marlins' positive COVID-19 tests and a scheduled off day, the Nationals returned to action with a 5–3 win over the division-rival New York Mets at Nationals Park on August 4. Star left fielder Juan Soto was activated after missing time following his own positive COVID-19 test, although he did not play in the August 4 game. The Nationals also activated reliever Wander Suero after placing Harris on the injured list with a right flexor strain. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was optioned to the alternate training site.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
In the August 4 game, first baseman Howie Kendrick went 4-for-4, beginning with a first-inning home run off Mets starter Steven Matz that Soto celebrated by dancing on top of the home dugout. Left fielder Josh Harrison recorded his first hit of the season with a second-inning home run off Matz. Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin got the win despite allowing three runs over 5⅔ innings. After their raucous return to action, however, the Nationals' bats fell silent.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Behind Rick Porcello, the Mets pulled out a series split by winning 3–1 on August 5. Max Scherzer started the game for the Nationals but exited with a hamstring issue after just one inning of work, replaced by Erick Fedde, who went on to take the loss in relief. Making his season debut, Soto drove in the Nationals' only run of the game with an RBI double off Porcello.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Rosters contracted to 28 players on August 6 after starting the season at 30 players, and the Nationals chose to option reliever James Bourque and designate utilityman Emilio Bonifácio for assignment to trim their roster down to size. After another off day, the Nationals lost two games to their interleague rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, including an 11–0 drubbing in which former National Tommy Milone earned the win as the Orioles' starter on August 7.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals led 3–0 into the eighth inning on August 8, but Sean Doolittle gave up back-to-back home runs to trim Baltimore's deficit before closer Daniel Hudson allowed a three-run home run by Anthony Santander for the blown save and loss.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
In Stephen Strasburg's season debut for the final game of the three-game set on August 9, the Nationals' struggles manifested themselves in a new way, as the game was postponed in the sixth inning when the Nationals Park grounds crew was unable to unroll the tarp over the infield in time for heavy rains to render the field unplayable for the rest of the night.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals rebounded from three straight losses with a 16–4 drubbing of the Mets on August 10, as first baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera went 4-for-4 with two home runs against his former team and Soto clubbed a home run 463 feet (141 m) beyond the apple sculpture in straightaway center at Citi Field, the longest of his career. Corbin earned the win, giving up two runs in six innings. The Nationals followed that rout up with another win on August 11, as Scherzer and the Nationals avenged their earlier defeat by Porcello and the Mets.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Shortstop Trea Turner opened the game for the Nationals with a home run off Porcello, who took the loss, while Scherzer earned the win with six strong innings in the 2–1 contest. The Mets rallied, however, to split the four-game series by winning the next two games.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
In the August 12 game, they overcame two more Soto home runs, including a 466 foot (142 m)-blast that landed in the vacant concessions area high in the right field stands, by scoring five early to chase Nationals starter Aníbal Sánchez in the third inning and then thumping reliever Ryne Harper for five more in the sixth inning. The Nationals had to take two players out of the game: starting center fielder Víctor Robles, who was hit on the hand by a pitch, and left-handed reliever Sam Freeman, who suffered an elbow injury.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Before the August 13 game, the Nationals moved both Freeman and Doolittle, dealing with a right knee issue, to the injured list. They selected the contract of left-hander Seth Romero, one of their top pitching prospects, and activated Harris to fill the blank spots in the bullpen. The Mets won 8–2, getting to Nationals starter Austin Voth early and forcing manager Davey Martinez to go to his bullpen starting in the fifth inning.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Voth took the loss, but much of the damage was allowed by Romero, making his major league debut in relief, as New York catcher Tomás Nido hit a two-out grand slam to center to blow the game open. Soto hit his fourth home run of the series in the sixth inning, but the damage was done and the Mets cruised to a win.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
In another unusual quirk of the season's modified rules, when the Nationals resumed the interrupted August 9 game against the Orioles on August 14, they did so as the "home" team at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, proceeding to a loss. Reliever Dakota Bacus, called up to give the Nationals a fresh bullpen arm while Harper was optioned, made his debut in the continued game with two shutout innings.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
While the 6–2 finish marked the second time of the month the Nationals had lost three games in a row, they suffered a more significant loss as second baseman Starlin Castro dove for a ball and broke his wrist, sending him to the injured list for the remainder of the season. To replace Castro on the roster and as the team's starting second baseman, the Nationals called up top prospect Luis García from the alternate training site, selecting his contract for a major league debut in that evening's game, played as a regular home game for the Orioles.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Both García and fellow rookie infielder Carter Kieboom starred in the 15–3 win, with García singling off Baltimore's starter Milone in the third inning for his first career hit and later doubling in Soto and Cabrera for his first RBIs while Kieboom, the starting third baseman in the game, flashed the leather with 10 assists, many of them while playing in a defensive shift, to set a new team record for assists by a third baseman. Unfortunately for the Nationals, however, their starting pitcher Strasburg exited the game after giving up a Santander home run and recording just two outs.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Strasburg was later moved to the injured list and ultimately shut down for the season with carpal tunnel neuritis in his throwing hand, with Harper recalled to take his place on the roster. The Nationals and Orioles split the next two games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with Corbin suffering his first loss of the season on August 15 as he allowed five runs over five innings before the Nationals rebounded to gut out a 6–5 win behind Scherzer in the series finale the next day. Scherzer got the win despite allowing five runs over seven innings, with two solo home runs by Santander and a three-run home run by Scherzer's former catcher and Nationals teammate, Pedro Severino, as Soto scored on a fielding error in the eighth inning.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Another scheduled three-game series was shortened to two games by rain, but not before the Nationals split the first two with the division-rival Atlanta Braves. The Braves pinned another blown save and loss on Hudson, struggling in his role as Washington's closer, with a walkoff home run by Dansby Swanson capping a four-run rally in the ninth inning of the August 17 game, with a final score of 7–6.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The meltdown eclipsed García's first career home run in the game, as he became the first player born in the 2000s to hit a major league home run, with a two-run shot in the second inning off Touki Toussaint. Hudson rallied from the loss to lock down the save and complete a 8–5 win for the Nationals on August 18, credited to Suero in relief after Voth was tagged for five runs over four innings. Romero, Bacus, Harris, Javy Guerra, and Kyle Finnegan also provided scoreless relief appearances in the game. The August 19 game was postponed by rain.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Finally playing the rival Marlins after an earlier series was postponed by COVID-19, the Nationals lost three of five at Nationals Park, including a makeup "away" game played as part of an August 22 doubleheader. Returning after his recovery from COVID-19, shortstop Miguel Rojas did all of the damage for the Marlins in a 3–2 Nationals loss on August 21, sending a three-run homer to left field off Corbin in the second inning.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals split the doubleheader on August 22, winning as the home team in the matinee—while Scherzer struggled and departed in the fifth inning with the bases loaded, Finnegan struck out catcher Jorge Alfaro to stifle the threat and earned his first career win—and losing in the nightcap, as prospect Wil Crowe, selected from the alternate training site to start the game for the Nationals, was hooked in the fourth inning and ultimately tagged for four runs as the reliever Romero let in two inherited runners.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Making his own major league debut, opposing starter Sixto Sánchez gave up three runs over five innings, on home runs by Nationals catcher Yan Gomes and center fielder Robles, but earned the win. Aníbal Sánchez finally earned his first win of the season on August 23, giving up just one run over seven innings. Miami turned to right-hander Sterling Sharp, a Nationals prospect whom the Marlins had claimed in the 2019 Rule 5 draft, in relief after starter Humberto Mejía was chased in the fourth inning. The Nationals hit Sharp hard in the fifth inning, scoring five runs off him.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Marlins designated Sharp for assignment after the game and returned him to the Nationals. Washington made its own roster move in the bullpen on August 24, with Romero out for the season after breaking his right hand in a fall on the stairs, according to manager Davey Martinez; he was placed on the injured list and fellow southpaw Ben Braymer was called up from the alternate training site. The Marlins took the rubber game that evening, with Voth again being pummeled to the tune of seven runs allowed over 3⅔ innings. The Nationals mounted a comeback but couldn't complete it, with the Marlins winning 11–8 despite a 4-for-5 effort from Soto and four RBIs by Eaton.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
For their third three-game losing streak of August, as well as their third scheduled three-game series of August truncated to two, the Nationals dropped games on August 25 and 26 to the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies before the August 27 game was postponed. Fedde was battered in the series opener, which the Nationals lost 8–3 after a lengthy rain delay, despite another leadoff home run by Turner. It was the bullpen that scuffled to the loss on August 26.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Although bolstered before the game by the return of Doolittle, activated to take the place of third baseman Carter Kieboom as the offensively challenged Kieboom was optioned to the alternate training site, the relief corps couldn't withstand a Phillies rally as Harris gave up the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh inning, not helped by an outfield collision between Robles and Eaton. The scheduled August 27 game was postponed, as players from the Phillies and the Nationals boycotted due to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, earlier that week.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
On a roadtrip to Fenway Park to play an interleague series with the Boston Red Sox, the Nationals started off with an easy 10–2 win behind Scherzer on August 28. Braymer made his major league debut in relief, giving up one run over two innings before being optioned back to the alternate training site after the Nationals signed former longtime Red Sox utilityman Brock Holt to a major league deal on August 29. But Washington finished out the month on yet another three-game skid, as the Red Sox took the next two games by handing still more losses to Sánchez and Voth, and Fedde was greeted in Philadelphia on August 31 with six runs allowed over six innings for another loss.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Overall, the Nationals went 9–16 in August and finished the month in last place in the National League East Division.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
September started in disastrous fashion for the Nationals, whose losing streak extended to seven games as they were swept by the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies and dropped their first of four games against the rival Atlanta Braves. Compounding their frustration, they were shut out by the Phillies on September 1 and 2 before pushing the September 3 game to extra innings before losing 6–5 in the tenth. The Nationals never got anything going against Phillies ace Aaron Nola on September 1, whereas Patrick Corbin's midseason woes continued as he lost the 6–0 shutout.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
After Nola threw eight innings and held Nationals stars Trea Turner and Juan Soto hitless, Nationals manager Davey Martinez admitted it was the best performance he had yet seen from Nola. It was Max Scherzer's turn on September 2, with Zack Wheeler leading the Phillies' 3–0 shutout of the Nationals. Scherzer allowed three runs over six innings for the loss, receiving no run support.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
To add injury to insult, Nationals reliever Javy Guerra suffered a hamstring injury in relief of Corbin and landed on the injured list the next day, with the Nationals recalling Kyle McGowin to replace him in the bullpen. While the Nationals broke out of their scoreless slump on September 3, aided by an inside-the-park home run by Turner and an over-the-fence home run by Michael A. Taylor, reliever Daniel Hudson blew the save in the eighth inning and Sean Doolittle took the loss as the Phillies cashed in their automatic runner in the bottom of the tenth.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Nationals lost the first game in a doubleheader at Truist Park in Atlanta on September 4, as the bats again went quiet and fifth starter Austin Voth again imploded, giving up five runs, including two home runs by Ronald Acuña Jr., in 4⅔ innings en route to a 7–1 loss. To make matters worse, the Nationals scratched Soto with elbow soreness and sat fellow outfielder Adam Eaton with a knee injury he had suffered the previous night.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
While still missing their usual corner outfielders, and turning again to rookie starting pitcher Wil Crowe for the spot start in the nightcap, the Nationals pulled out a 10–9 win. Crowe was lifted from the game in the third inning, having struggled with command and given up two home runs, including Acuña's third of the day. Reliever Tanner Rainey, the Nationals' most reliable arm all season, surrendered a grand slam to Freddie Freeman to tie the game in the fourth inning.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Led by Turner, the Nationals scored just enough runs to win, as struggling closer Daniel Hudson gave up a two-run home run but still earned the save. The Nationals recalled third baseman Carter Kieboom on September 5, designating longtime utilityman Wilmer Difo for assignment in a corresponding move. "We've got to see what we’ve got," manager Davey Martinez explained, describing Kieboom—despite his struggles at the plate before he was optioned to the alternate training site in late August—as his everyday third baseman for the rest of the season.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The bullpen and offense came through again in the September 5 game, with McGowin making his season debut and throwing 2⅓ perfect innings, earning the win and picking up another lackluster start by Fedde, who allowed all four of the Braves' runs as the Nationals again scored ten times. Also that day, the Nationals announced a contract extension for general manager Mike Rizzo through the 2023 season.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Corbin struggled again on September 6 and took the loss as the Braves salvaged a series split, giving up five runs and exiting after 5⅓ innings, as it was Atlanta's turn to put up ten runs to three for the Nationals. In a highly unusual move, Rizzo was ejected during the game by umpire Joe West after, West claimed, the Nationals general manager showered verbal abuse on the umpiring crew from his suite two levels above home plate over a questionable call.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
After placing rookie reliever Dakota Bacus on the injured list, the Nationals recalled reliever James Bourque. The Nationals swept the Tampa Bay Rays in a two-game interleague set on September 7 and 8. Scherzer pitched well in the series opener, putting up seven strong innings as the Nationals prevailed 6–1. The second game was more competitive, but the Nationals won 5–3, aided by Soto's return to the lineup, Kieboom's first extra-base hit of the season (an RBI double), and perfect innings of relief from Doolittle and Rainey. The two-game sweep was tempered as veteran infielder Howie Kendrick landed on the injured list with a nagging hamstring injury, with the Nationals selecting the contract of 32-year-old minor league outfielder Yadiel Hernández from the alternate training site to replace him.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Rainey's revival didn't last long, as he took the loss on September 10 when the Braves clawed back from a five-run deficit before Dansby Swanson gave them the lead with an eighth-inning home run. Making matters worse, the Nationals lost Doolittle to another injury in the ninth inning. Done for the season, Doolittle was placed on the injured list with an oblique injury, and the Nationals recalled left-hander Ben Braymer to the bullpen.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Following another blown save for Hudson that sent the game into extra innings, Bourque earned his first major league win pitching in relief for the Nationals on September 11, coming on in the twelfth inning after scoreless tenth and eleventh innings authored by Kyle Finnegan. Taylor delivered the walkoff single for Washington to cap the seesaw 8–7 affair. The Braves took the four-game series by winning the next two games, with Corbin allowing just two runs over seven innings on September 12 but getting just one run of support and Scherzer getting clobbered for six runs over 5⅓ innings on September 13 to take the loss.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Nationals split a pair with the Rays at Tropicana Field. Playing without Rainey, out for the season with a right flexor strain, and utilityman Brock Holt, out for the birth of his second child, and with reliever Aaron Barrett and infielder Jake Noll up from the alternate training site to replace them, the Nationals were pummeled 6–1 on September 15 as Aníbal Sánchez gave up all of the Rays' runs in 4⅓ innings. They recovered to win in extra innings the next day, with Luis García hitting a game-winning home run 427 feet (130 m) into right field in the tenth after another blown save by Hudson.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Miami Marlins and Nationals had some games to make up from earlier in the season due to the Marlins' COVID-19 outbreak, so a five-game series that included two doubleheaders in three days was scheduled.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Nationals won the first and last games of the five-game set, shutting out the Marlins 5–0 behind a strong start from Erick Fedde, who allowed just one hit over six innings, in the matinee on September 18 and then shutting them out again 15–0 in the nightcap on September 20, with Braymer earning his first career win thanks to an effective five-inning spot start and ample run support.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Sandwiched in between, the Marlins came back to crush Crowe and the Nationals' bullpen in a 15–3 blowout in the night game on September 18, which ended with a returning Holt coughing up a three-run homer to Brian Anderson in his major league pitching debut; hammering Corbin for a career-high 14 hits allowed and sending him to yet another loss in a 7–3 game on September 19, the only nine-inning game of the series under the 2020 season's doubleheader rules; and winning the first game in the September 20 doubleheader, a tough 2–1 loss for Scherzer, with the go-ahead run scoring on a Kieboom throwing error, despite a strong pitching performance for the Nationals' longtime ace.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Nationals beat the Phillies on September 21 behind a five-inning start from Sánchez and four scoreless innings from the bullpen, although they lost Kieboom for the season when he was hit on the hand by a pitch, suffering a bone bruise.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Playing their third doubleheader in the span of less than a week, the Nationals swept both games against Philadelphia on September 22, with Voth earning his first win of the season in the matinee and the 32-year-old rookie Hernández hitting his first major league home run to walk off in the nightcap, as journeyman Paolo Espino made the spot start for the Nationals.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Phillies exacted a small measure of revenge, savaging the Nationals 12–3 and handing Fedde the loss on September 23, despite Fedde posting his longest outing of the year at seven innings while giving up three runs, two of them on home runs by former Nationals teammate and fellow Las Vegas native Bryce Harper. After McGowin and Ryne Harper struggled in relief, Holt took the ball for his second pitching appearance of the season. The Nationals were formally eliminated that night from playoff contention.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Finishing the season with four games against the division-rival New York Mets, with whom they were now battling for fourth place in the National League East Division, the Nationals dropped the series opener on September 24 as Corbin lost his seventh straight decision. To catch the Mets in the standings and finish out of last place in the division, by dint of a better head-to-head record, the Nationals had to win out—and they did, starting by winning yet another doubleheader on September 26 following a rainout.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Harris notched his first save with the Nationals in the first game of two on September 26, securing the 4–3 win for Scherzer. The Nationals were propelled by an unlikely offensive powerhouse. Starting in left field and leading off for the Nationals, with Soto moving over to right field, Andrew Stevenson hit two home runs off Mets ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, including an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning as Mets left fielder Dominic Smith ran into a wall and couldn't get up quickly.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
In the second game of the doubleheader, Sánchez received support in the form of a five-run third inning that gave the Nationals all the offense they needed to win, 5–3. The Nationals punctuated the season in emphatic fashion on September 27, winning 15–5 and giving Voth his second win of the season. Turner hit a grand slam off Mets starter Steven Matz in the game, while Soto singled to secure the National League batting title, the youngest qualifying player ever to lead the league in hits over a season.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Despite a rough start to September, the Nationals managed a 14–14 record of wins and losses over the month, bringing them to a 26–34 season record that was good for a fourth-place finish in the National League East, one year after earning a wild card berth into the playoffs and winning the 2019 World Series.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Major league debuts
NOTE: Dakota Bacus's debut took place in the August 14 continuation of the suspended August 9 game. In baseball records, his debut technically appears as having occurred in the August 9 game.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Statistics, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On Base Percentage; SLG = Slugging Percentage; SB = Stolen bases


2020 Washington Nationals season, Statistics, Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts


2020 Washington Nationals season, Awards and honors
Outfielder Juan Soto won the batting title among qualified National League players, hitting .351 during the regular season to beat out Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman and become the youngest NL batting champion in history. Soto also won a Silver Slugger Award.


2020 Washington Nationals season, Farm system, Class A-Advanced
After playing for 36 seasons at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Virginia, the Nationals′ Class A-Advanced affiliate, most recently known as the Potomac Nationals, moved during the 2019–2020 offseason to a new stadium in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that would open in April 2020. On October 5, 2019, the team announced that it had changed its name to the Fredericksburg Nationals for the 2020 season and that its marketing nickname for the team – "P-Nats" when the team was the Potomac Nationals – had changed to "FredNats."


2020 Washington Republican presidential primary
The 2020 Washington Republican presidential primary took place on March 10, 2020, as one of 5 contests scheduled for that day in the Republican Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election.


2020 Washington Secretary of State election
The Washington Secretary of State election, 2020, was held on November 3, 2020. Incumbent Republican Kim Wyman won reelection over Democratic nominee Gael Tarleton, the two having received the most votes in an August 2020 primary election.


2020 Washington Secretary of State election
Wyman was endorsed by former Washington governor Daniel J. Evans, former United States senator Slade Gorton, Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, three former Republican Washington Secretaries of State, former Democratic Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling, and two former Washington State Auditors; various county auditors, state legislators, local elected officials, tribal officials, and political organizations, and community leaders; and the newspapers The Seattle Times, The Everett Herald, The Columbian, The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, The Olympian, The Tacoma News Tribune, The Tri-City Herald, The Yakima Herald, The Spokesman-Review, and Northwest Asian Weekly.


2020 Washington Secretary of State election
Tarleton was endorsed by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, incumbent Washington governor Jay Inslee, former governor Gary Locke, United States senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson; various United States Representatives, state legislators, local elected officials, political organizations, and community leaders; and The Stranger.


2020 Washington Secretary of State election, General election, By congressional district
Wyman won 7 of 10 congressional districts, including 4 that also went for Joe Biden, despite Biden endorsing Tarleton.


2020 Washington Spirit season
The 2020 season was the Washington Spirit's seventh season, competing in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.


2020 Washington Spirit season
The season was slated to begin on April 18, 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the NWSL season was cancelled due to the pandemic. Th club participated in the NWSL Challenge Cup and the NWSL Fall series which were held in lieu of the regular season. The Challenge Cup was held behind closed doors at the neutral venue of Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The Spirit reached the Quarterfinals of the Challenge Cup and finished in third place in the Fall Series. Combined across all matches, the Spirit had the second best record of matches played during the 2020 season.


2020 Washington Spirit season, Club, Roster
The first-team roster of Washington Spirit. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Washington Spirit season, Competitions, Preseason
All preseason competitions were cancelled on March 12, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.


2020 Washington Spirit season, Competitions, NWSL Fall series
The Spirit were placed into the Northeast pod of the NWSL Fall series with the Chicago Red Stars and Sky Blue FC. The spirit played each team twice, once home and once away. Home Matches were hosted at Segra field without spectators.


2020 Washington Spirit season, Transfers, Draft picks
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. Only trades involving draft picks and executed during the 2020 NWSL College Draft will be listed in the notes.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team
The 2020 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Nick Rolovich. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team
On August 11, 2020, the Pac-12 Conference initially canceled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team
On September 24, the conference announced that a six-game conference-only season would begin on November 6, with the Pac-12 Championship Game to be played December 18. Teams not selected for the championship game would be seeded to play a seventh game.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team, Previous season
The Cougars finished the season 6–7, 3–6 in Pac-12 play to finish tied for fifth in the Northern Division. They were invited to play in the Cheez-It Bowl, where they lost to Air Force 31–21. On January 9, head coach Mike Leach departed the program to accept the vacant head coaching position at Mississippi State. Less than a week later, athletic director Pat Chun hired Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team, Schedule
Washington State had games scheduled against Utah State, Houston, and Idaho, but canceled these games on July 10 due to the Pac-12 Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team, #WeAreUnited controversy
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, student athletes of the Pac-12 Conference formed a unity group to negotiate with the conference to get more fair treatment for student athletes ranging from COVID-19 safety protocols to racial equality messages under the threat of opting out of the fall season with the hashtag #WeAreUnited.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team, #WeAreUnited controversy
On August 2, 2020, Washington State wide receiver Kassidy Woods alleged that head coach Nick Rolovich threatened his status on the team, while also being removed from the team chats and being told to clear out his locker. Woods also released an audio conversation between him and Rolovich to the Dallas Morning News, where Rolovich was understanding of Woods opting out due to COVID-19 but was still critical of the unity group.


2020 Washington State Cougars football team, #WeAreUnited controversy
Rolovich said in a statement that the said conversation between him and Woods occurred before the release of the #WeAreUnited group's article, and Washington State spokesman Bill Stephens clarified that Woods did not lose his scholarship or has been cut from the team, while ESPN reported that no one has been cut, but is not allowed to participate in team activities if they choose to opt out due to safety reasons.


2020 Washington State Senate election
The 2020 Washington State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 2020 United States elections. Washington voters elected state senators in 26 of the 49 state legislative districts. Elections to the Washington State Senate were held on November 3, 2020.


2020 Washington State Senate election
Following the previous election in 2018, Democrats held a 28-seat majority in the Senate, compared to Republicans' 21 seats. Senators who did not run for re-election were Randi Becker, Maureen Walsh, and Hans Zeiger (all Republicans).


2020 Washington State Senate election
Democrats retained control of the Washington State Senate following the 2020 general election, with the balance of power remaining unchanged: 28 (D) to 21 (R).


2020 Washington State Senate election, Detailed Results
Each party flipped a seat and the composition stayed at 28 D–21 R. Senators Dean Takko (D) and Steve O'Ban (R) lost reelection.


2020 Washington elections
General elections were held in the U.S. state of Washington on November 3, 2020. A primary was held on August 4.


2020 Washington elections, Federal, President of the United States
Washington has 12 electoral votes for the presidential election, remaining unchanged from 2016. A presidential primary for both parties was held on March 10, 2020, with 13 candidates for the Democrats and one candidate for the Republicans. The 2020 Democratic primary was the first in the state's history to have a binding vote, replacing the caucus system that overrode the nonbinding primary vote.


2020 Washington elections, Federal, United States House of Representatives
All 10 of Washington's seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for re-election. All but one of the incumbents ran for re-election, the exception being Denny Heck (D) of the 10th district.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, Governor
Incumbent Governor Jay Inslee (D) was re-elected to a third term in a landslide.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib (D) retired from politics. U.S. Representative Denny Heck won the open seat.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) was re-elected to a third term.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, Secretary of State
Incumbent Secretary of State Kim Wyman (R) was re-elected to a third term. State Representative Gael Tarleton (D–Seattle) unsuccessfully challenged Wyman.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, Public Lands Commissioner
Incumbent Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz (D) was re-elected to a second term.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, State Auditor
Incumbent State Auditor Pat McCarthy (D) was re-elected to a second term.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, State Treasurer
Incumbent state treasurer Duane Davidson (R) ran for a second term. State Representative Mike Pellicciotti (D–Federal Way) defeated Davidson.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent state superintendent Chris Reykdal (non-partisan election) was re-elected to a second term.


2020 Washington elections, Statewide executive, Insurance Commissioner
Incumbent insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler (D) was re-elected to a sixth term.


2020 Washington elections, Supreme Court
Seats 3, 4, and 7 of the Washington Supreme Court were up for six-year terms. Debra L. Stephens, Charles W. Johnson, and Raquel Montoya-Lewis ran for new terms. Seat 6 Justice Charles Wiggins retired and Governor Inslee's appointee G. Helen Whitener ran for the final two years of the term.


2020 Washington elections, Legislative, State Senate
Twenty-five of the forty-nine seats in the Washington State Senate were up for election. Democrats kept a 28–21 majority in the Senate. Senators retiring this election were  Senators Randi Becker (R-Olympia), Maureen Walsh (R-Walla Walla), and Hans Zeiger (R-Puyallup). Senators Dean Takko (D) and Steve O'Ban (R) lost reelection.


2020 Washington elections, Legislative, State House of Representatives
All 98 seats in the Washington House of Representatives were up for election. Democrats kept a 57–41 majority in the House. House members who didn't run for re-election were Representatives Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo), Richard DeBolt (R-Chehalis), Beth Doglio (D-Olympia), Chris Gildon (R-Puyallup), Bill Jenkin (R-Prosser), Christine Kilduff (D-University Place), Mike Pellicciotti (D-Federal Way), Eric Pettigrew (D-Seattle), Norma Smith (R-Clinton),  and Gael Tarleton (D-Seattle). Representatives Luanne Van Werven (R) and Brian Blake (D) lost reelection.


2020 Washington elections, Legislative, Ballot measures
No initiatives to the people qualified for the ballot. One referendum was on the ballot, on Senate Bill 5395 regarding sexual education. One constitutional amendment was on the ballot, regarding the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account and the Long-Term Care Services and Supports Trust Account. It passed with 58% in favor.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election
The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. The top-two primary was held on August 4. Incumbent Jay Inslee, the Democratic candidate, defeated Loren Culp, the Republican candidate.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election
As Washington does not have gubernatorial term limits, incumbent Democratic Governor Jay Inslee was eligible to run for a third term. Inslee initially launched a campaign for President of the United States in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to low polling numbers, he announced he would seek a third term as governor. Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run, including Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election
Republican Loren Culp placed second in the top-two primary and competed against Inslee in the general election on November 3. Inslee won re-election to a third term and defeated Culp in the election by a 13.44% margin. Nonetheless, Culp refused to concede and filed a lawsuit against Republican Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman five weeks after the election. Culp's actions drew criticism and were compared to Donald Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 U.S. presidential election.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election, Background
Washington has not had a Republican governor since John Spellman left office in 1985, the longest streak of Democratic leadership of any state in the country and the third longest streak of one-party leadership after South Dakota (which has not had a Democratic governor since Harvey L. Wollman left office in 1979) and Utah (which has not had a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office nine days prior to Spellman in 1985). Incumbent Governor Jay Inslee, who previously served in the U.S. House, was first elected to the governorship in the 2012 election and won reelection in 2016.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election, Background
When Inslee announced his candidacy for president, several political figures expressed interest in running for Governor if Inslee won the Democratic primaries. These included Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and King County executive Dow Constantine. They stated they would only run if Inslee was not, avoiding a primary challenge.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election, Background
Several Republican politicians announced their own campaigns to challenge Inslee, including businessman Anton Sakharov, Republic police chief Loren Culp, and state senator Phil Fortunato. However, speculated candidates such as former U.S. Representative Dave Reichert, former Seattle Port Commissioner and 2016 gubernatorial nominee Bill Bryant, Pierce County executive and former State Senator Bruce Dammeier, and Washington House minority Leader J. T. Wilcox all declined to be candidates, leaving no prominent Republicans to challenge Inslee, which was seen as a necessary prerequisite to mount a formidable challenge to him.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election, Primary election
Washington is one of few states that holds a top-two primary, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two move on to the general election. Most states have party primaries.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election, General election, Results
The election was clear and decisive, with incumbent Jay Inslee winning re-election over Loren Culp by over 13 points. This marked the largest margin of victory in a Washington gubernatorial race since Gary Locke won reelection in 2000. Inslee's landslide victory was fueled by getting over 74% of the vote in King County, which was the highest a Democrat got there in state history. King County, home to Seattle, has about a third of the state's voters. In addition, this was the first time since 2000 that a Democrat won a county in Eastern Washington with Inslee winning Whitman County. In spite of the large margin of victory, Culp refused to concede his loss and did not give a concession speech, while making claims of irregularities which Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman characterized as "unsubstantiated".


2020 Washington gubernatorial election, General election, Results
Despite this, Culp still ran ahead of the top-ticket presidential candidate, Donald Trump, by about 4 points.


2020 Washington gubernatorial election, General election, By congressional district
Inslee won 6 of 10 congressional districts with the remaining 4 going to Culp.


2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election
The 2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the lieutenant governor of Washington concurrently with the 2020 Washington elections. The top-two primary was held on August 4, and Democrats Denny Heck and Marko Liias advanced to the general election, which Heck won.


2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election
Incumbent Cyrus Habib surprised the state by announcing he was foregoing a run for re-election in order to join the Order of Jesuits. The position was of special importance due to speculation that the incumbent Governor, Jay Inslee could have been appointed to a position in a Democratic Presidential Cabinet after winning his third term.


2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election, Background
Habib's retirement came after Gov. Inslee dropped out of the presidential election which caused many potential statewide candidates in Washington to change their plans and drop exploratory bids.


2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election, Background
At the time of Habib's announcement former Seattle City Council candidate Ann Davison Sattler and former US House candidate Joseph Brumbles had already been running as Republicans. The day of his retirement State Senator Steve Hobbs announced his 2nd campaign for the office of Lieutenant Governor, after losing in the 2016 Primary to then-State Senator Habib.


2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election, Nonpartisan blanket primary, Results
A top-two primary took place on August 4. All candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation and the top two advanced to the general election in November.


2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election, General election
After being eliminated in the August 4th gubernatorial primary, Joshua Freed announced that he would be running for lieutenant governor as a write-in candidate. A debate between Heck and Liias was held on October 22.


2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election, General election, By congressional district
Heck won 9 of 10 congressional districts with the remaining one going to Liias.


2020 Washington wildfires
The 2020 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2020. The season was a part of the 2020 Western United States wildfires. By September, wildfires had burned over 713,000 acres, 181 homes had been lost, and one death occurred as a result. The 2020 fire season saw more individual fires than in any other recorded year.


2020 Washington wildfires, Predictions and preparation
Based on environmental factors and forest conditions, the Washington–Oregon wildfires were projected to be the worst in the United States during 2020.


2020 Washington wildfires, Predictions and preparation
Firefighting was expected to be complicated by personnel and resource shortages, and lack of training, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington. By mid-May, one Washington State Department of Natural Resources firefighter had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and officials weren't sure how to get crews across quarantine boundaries and into Washington. Experts said another effect may be that plans to fight fires would be scaled back and many 2020 fires would be left to burn.


2020 Washington wildfires, Predictions and preparation
Department of Natural Resources training began June 19 outside Hamilton, Washington in Skagit County. According to the Skagit Valley Herald, interagency training in Washington that usually involves federal, state and local firefighting agencies was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.


2020 Washington wildfires, Fires
On April 26th two fires were burning: the  Stanwood Bryant Fire in Snohomish County (70 acres) and the Porter Creek Fire in Whatcom County (80 acres).


2020 Washington wildfires, Fires
Between July 16 and 30, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and many county governments – including Mason, Thurston, King, Pierce and Whatcom Counties – issued fire safety burn bans due to elevated risk of uncontrolled fires.


2020 Washington wildfires, Fires
In late July, a brush fire in Chelan County, the Colockum Fire, burned at least 3,337 acres (1,350 ha) and caused homes to be evacuated. A fire on the Colville Reservation near Nespelem called the Greenhouse Fire burned at least 5,146 acres (2,083 ha) and caused the evacuation of the Colville Tribal Corrections Facility and other structures.


2020 Washington wildfires, Fires
On August 19, Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency for all of Washington, with fires burning on the Olympic Peninsula and in Eastern Washington. Among the active fires was the 24,000-acre (9,700 ha) Taylor Pond Fire near Yakima. By August 20, the Palmer Fire near Oroville – which started August 18 – had reached 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) and forced evacuation of up to 85 homes. The largest of the fires in the Olympics reached 2.4 acres (0.97 ha) by August 20.


2020 Washington wildfires, Fires
The Evans Canyon Fire, a few miles north of Naches, was ignited around August 31 and expanded to tens of thousands of acres, shut down Washington State Route 821 in the Yakima River Canyon, burned several homes and caused hundreds of families to evacuate, and caused unhealthy air quality in Yakima County. By September 6, it had burned almost 76,000 acres.


2020 Washington wildfires, Fires, Labor Day
On September 7, a "historic fire event" with high winds resulted in 80 fires and nearly 300,000 acres burned in a day. Malden and Pine City, in the Palouse region of Eastern Washington, were mostly destroyed by one of the fires. By the evening of September 8, the Cold Springs Canyon and adjacent Pearl Hill Fires had burned over 337,000 acres (136,000 ha) and neither was more than 10% contained. Smoke blanketed the Seattle area on September 8 and caused unhealthy air conditions throughout the Puget Sound region, and affected Southwest British Columbia.


2020 Washington wildfires, Recovery
In early August, the Washington Military Department set up Starlink satellite ground stations for data connectivity in areas where terrestrial communications were lost due to the fires. The systems were engineered and manufactured by SpaceX in Redmond, Washington. It was "the first early application of the company's service to be disclosed".


2020 Washington, D.C. block party shooting
On August 9, 2020, a mass shooting occurred at a block party that was being held in the Greenway neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Twenty-two people were shot, one of which was killed.


2020 Washington, D.C. block party shooting, Incident
Police state at 12:30 am EDT (4:30 UTC) at least four shooters exchanged gunfire, firing more than a hundred rounds, while hundreds of people attended a block party promoted as the fifth annual “34th-n-EAT”. The block party's attendance exceeded the limit of fifty people to a gathering set by Mayor Muriel Bowser in response to COVID-19. Police were present at the block party but did not have enough officers to handle the large crowd.


2020 Washington, D.C. block party shooting, Victims
The sole fatality was 17-year-old Christopher Brown. Ten men and eleven women received non-fatal injuries including 22-year-old Charlee Brown of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, who was off-duty at the time.


2020 Washington, D.C. block party shooting, Reaction
Mayor Muriel Bowser stated “We had a lot of people in a dangerous situation last night. Sadly several people that have no regards for human life opened fire. When you put illegal guns in the hands of people willing to use them it means that some person could lose her life or some people could lose their lives.


2020 Washington, D.C. block party shooting, Reaction
So it is very important that as a community we have a zero tolerance for this activity, that we support the Metropolitan Police Department, and the community is going to have to understand that may mean that some people will have to go to jail. When we say that we can't have large events, it’s to keep the entire community safe."


2020 Washington, D.C. elections
The 2020 Washington, D.C. elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Its primary elections were held on June 2, 2020.


2020 Washington, D.C. elections
In addition to the U.S. presidential race, Washington, D.C. voters elected one of its two shadow Senators, its nonvoting member of the House of Representatives and 6 of 13 seats on the council. There is also one ballot measure which was voted on.


2020 Washington, D.C. elections, Federal elections, President of the United States
Washington, D.C. has 3 electoral votes in the Electoral College. The district has leaned heavily Democratic in each presidential election since 1964, the first one in which its population was able to vote.


2020 Washington, D.C. elections, Federal elections, United States House of Representatives
Eleanor Holmes Norton is running for re-election as a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives.


2020 Washington, D.C. elections, Federal elections, Shadow Senator
Incumbent Paul Strauss was re-elected to a sixth term as Shadow Senator.


2020 Washington, D.C. elections, Federal elections, Shadow Representative
Incumbent Franklin Garcia has declined to run for re-election. Democrat Oye Owolewa, independent Sohaer Syed, and Statehood Green Joyce Robinson-Paul are competing for his open seat.


2020 Washington, D.C. elections, District elections, Council
Members of the Council of the District of Columbia are elected to four-year terms. In 2020, six of the thirteen seats were up for election: four single-member wards and two single non-transferable vote at-large seats.


2020 Washington, D.C. elections, District elections, Ballot measure
Initiative 81, titled the Entheogenic Plants and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, aims to decriminalize noncommercial cultivation, distribution and possession of psychedelic plants, including psilocybin mushrooms, iboga, cacti containing mescaline, and ayahuasca.


2020 Waterford Senior Football Championship
The 2020 Waterford Senior Football Championship is the 133rd edition of the Waterford GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Waterford, Ireland. The tournament consists of 12 teams, with the winner going on to represent Waterford in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a stage and then progresses to a knock out stage. Due to the emergence of and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games, it was decided that there would be no relegation from the S.F.C. this season.


2020 Waterford Senior Football Championship
Rathgormack were the defending champions after they defeated Ballinacourty in the previous years final. However the defence of their title came undone at the ??? stage when losing to ?? ?.


2020 Waterford Senior Football Championship
This was St. Saviours' return to the senior grade after claiming the 2019 Waterford I.F.C. with a final victory over Mondeligo. This was their first year back in the top-flight of Waterford club football in 3 years since relegation at the end of the 2016 season.


2020 Waterford Senior Football Championship
On ?? October 2020, ??? claimed their ? ?th Waterford S.F.C. crown when defeating ??? in the final at Fraher Field.


2020 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Team Changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2019 championship season.


2020 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Group stage
There are 4 groups called Group A, B, C and D. The top finisher in each group will qualify for the Semi-Finals. Each group was seeded to consist of one Semi-Finalist from 2019, one defeated Quarter-Finalist from 2019, and finally a team who failed to reach the Quarter-Finals in 2019.


2020 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
The 2020 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship was the 120th staging of the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Waterford County Board in 1897. The original championship draw took place on 21 January 2020, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic in Ireland the draws for a rescheduled championship took place on 15 June 2020 with a new format being adopted and relegation being abolished. The championship took place between 24 July and 30 August 2020.


2020 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
On 30 August 2020, Ballygunner won the championship after a 1-23 to 0-09 defeat of Passage in the final at Walsh Park. This was their 19th championship title overall and their seventh title in succession.


2020 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
Lismore's Maurice Shanahan was the championship's top scorer with 3-44.


2020 WeatherTech 240
The 2020 WeatherTech 240 was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at the Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida on July 4th, 2020. This race was the second round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the first round of the 2020 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.


2020 WeatherTech 240
Taylor and García's GTLM class victory marked the first victory for the new Corvette C8.R, alongside Corvette Racing's 100th win in IMSA competition. The race was also just the 12th caution-free race since the merger in 2014.


2020 WeatherTech 240, Background
The race was the first for the series following the suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was initially announced to be run behind closed doors. However, it was later announced that a maximum of 5,000 fans were to be admitted, with all required to be residents of the state of Florida. The race was also the first time since 2010 that the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship or its previous series had competed in the Paul Revere 250 Independence Day event.


2020 WeatherTech 240, Background, Entries
A total of 26 cars took part in the event, down from the 39 entries from the season's opening event. There were 8 cars in the DPi class, 6 cars in the GTLM class, and 12 cars in the GTD class. The LMP2 class would not be participating in the event. Paul Miller Racing, the GTD class winner in the Rolex 24, didn't enter the event due to effects of the pandemic. Likewise, Pfaff Motorsports also didn't enter, due to travel restrictions surrounding being based in Canada. The #19 GEAR Racing powered by GRT Grasser entry, the #91 of Wright Motorsports, and the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin all declined to enter the event as well. Team Hardpoint made their series debut, and Gradient Racing returned for the first time since 2018.


2020 WeatherTech 240, Background, Entries
Prior to the event, Aaron Telitz was announced as the replacement for Parker Chase in the #14 entry for AIM Vasser Sullivan.


2020 WeatherTech 240, Qualifying, Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by .


2020 Webby Awards
The 2020 Webby Awards ceremony was posted online on May 19, 2020 at 12PM PST and was hosted by Patton Oswalt. Named Webbys From Home, it recognized the best of Internet content. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the award ceremony was held virtually at the organization's official website with pre-recorded material at remote locations. The ceremony included guest appearances from Michelle Obama, Kristen Bell, Tom Hanks, Demi Lovato, Anthony Fauci, Jill Scott and Questlove, among others. The awards were dedicated to "to honoring individuals and organizations who are using the internet in response to the coronavirus pandemic."


2020 Webby Awards
Google and National Geographic won the most awards at 14 each.


2020 Weber State Wildcats football team
The 2020 Weber State Wildcats football team represents Weber State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats are led by seventh-year head coach Jay Hill and play their games at Stewart Stadium as members of the Big Sky Conference.


2020 Weber State Wildcats football team, Previous season
They finished the 2019 season 11–4, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in a two-way tie for the Big Sky championship with Sacramento State. They received the Big Sky's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where, after a first round bye, they defeated Kennesaw State in the second round and Montana in the quarterfinals before losing to James Madison in the semifinals.


2020 Weber State Wildcats football team, Preseason, Polls
On July 23, 2020, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Wildcats were predicted to finish first in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker)
The 2020 Welsh Open (also known as the ManBetX Welsh Open due to sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament which took place from 10 to 16 February 2020 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. It was the 12th ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season, and the final tournament of the season's Home Nations Series. It was the 29th edition of the Welsh Open, first held in 1992. The event featured a prize fund of £405,000 with the winner receiving £70,000.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker)
Neil Robertson was the defending champion, having beaten Stuart Bingham 9–7 in the 2019 final, but he lost in the quarter-finals to Kyren Wilson. Shaun Murphy won the event, with a 9–1 win over Kyren Wilson in the final. There were a total of 77 century breaks at the event, the highest made by Wilson, a maximum break of 147 in the first frame of his first-round match with Jackson Page.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Format
The Welsh Open began as a ranking tournament in 1992. The 2020 tournament took place at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales between 10 and 16 February, the 29th edition of the event. It was the twelfth World Snooker Tour ranking competition in the 2019–20 snooker season, following the World Grand Prix and preceding the Snooker Shoot Out. It was the fourth and final event of the Home Nations Series, and featured 128 participants from the World Snooker Tour.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Format
The defending Welsh Open champion from 2019 was Neil Robertson who won the final with a 9–7 victory over Stuart Bingham. All matches were best-of-seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were the best-of-nine, the semi-finals the best-of-eleven. The final was played over two sessions, as the best-of-17 frames. The event was sponsored by sports betting company BetVictor, and broadcast locally by BBC Cymru Wales; Quest; Eurosport in Europe and Australia; CCTV, Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China; True sport in Thailand; Sky Sports in New Zealand and DAZN in Canada. A single qualifying match was played between two local amateur players – Darren Morgan and Gavin Lewis.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Format, Prize fund
The event's total prize fund is £405,000, with the winner receiving £70,000. The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Summary
The opening round was played on 10 and 11 February. Local amateur Darren Morgan completed a 4–0 win over fellow Welsh amateur Gavin Lewis, but lost to Shaun Murphy 0–4 in the opening round. Ashley Carty defeated Joe Perry, 4–3 after a break of 66 in the deciding frame. Soheil Vahedi defeated 20th seed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–2, whilst 12th seed David Gilbert was beaten by Matthew Stevens 2–4. Kyren Wilson defeated Jackson Page 4–3, and made a maximum break in the opening frame, the second of his career.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Summary
The next three rounds were played on 12 and 13 February. After defeating Jamie Clarke in the first round, defending champion Neil Robertson defeated Mark Joyce, Noppon Saengkham and completed a whitewash over Gerard Greene to reach the quarter-finals. Wilson defeated Liam Highfield, Martin O'Donnell and ninth seed Ding Junhui to play Robertson, which he won 5–0. Mark Selby defeated David Grace, Chen Zifan, Andy Lee and Zhao Xintong to play Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals, with O'Sullivan winning 5–1.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Summary
Seeded 19, Yan Bingtao defeated Michael Holt, Mitchell Mann, Stuart Bingham and Anthony McGill to reach the quarter-finals, who had defeated Luca Brecel 4–3 in the last 16. Yan defeated Higgins 5–2, where Higgins described his performance as "pathetic". Murphy defeated Alfie Burden in the second round 4–3, before beating Ben Woollaston and Dominic Dale 4–1. He met Judd Trump, the world number one, who had defeated James Cahill, Billy Joe Castle, Igor Figueiredo and Stephen Maguire in the quarter-final and won 5–3. Wilson defeated O'Sullivan in the first semi-final on a deciding frame 6–5, whilst Murphy overcame Yan by the same scoreline.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Summary
The final was played between eighth seed Kyren Wilson and tenth seed Shaun Murphy on 16 February. The final was played over two sessions as a best-of-17 frames match. Murphy won the opening frame with a break of 108, and made a second century break, a 134, in frame eight as he won seven of the opening session frames to lead 7–1. Wilson won only frame seven during the opening session. On the resumption of the match, Murphy fluked a red ball to win frame nine and took frame ten with a third century break to finish a 9–1 victory. This was Murphy's second championship victory of the season, having also won the 2019 China Championship 9–8 over Mark Williams.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Tournament draw
The results from the event is shown below. Players in bold denote match winners, whilst numbers in brackets are player's seedings.


2020 Welsh Open (snooker), Century breaks
The event had a total of 77 century breaks made during the event, the highest being a maximum break of 147 by Kyren Wilson in the second frame of his first round match.


2020 Wesley Wolverines football team
The 2020 Wesley Wolverines football team represented Wesley College in the 2020–21 NCAA Division III football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chip Knapp and played their home games at Drass Field at Scott D. Miller Stadium. They were a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and finished with a record of 2–1, placing second in the conference. It was the school's final season, as the college was sold to Delaware State University following the year.


2020 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2020 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the West Coast Conference during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season,  held March 5–10 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada.


2020 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Second-ranked Gonzaga won the tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the 68-team NCAA Tournament, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the second consecutive year, the Los Angeles-based University Credit Union was the title sponsor of the tournament.


2020 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Venue
For the twelfth consecutive year, the WCC Tournament was held in the Orleans Arena, with a seating capacity of 7,471 for basketball. The tournament is scheduled to be held at the Orleans Arena at least until 2022. The venue is located at the 1,886-room Orleans Hotel and Casino, about a mile (1.6 km) west of the Las Vegas Strip.


2020 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Venue
Tickets sold out for the 2020 WCC Tournament less than an hour after being made available to the public, marking the eleventh consecutive year that tickets sold out for the tournament.


2020 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
All ten WCC teams participated in the tournament, seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system for identical conference records. The tournament returned to a format similar to that used from 2003 to 2011, with slight changes to the terminology used for the rounds prior to the semifinals. The 7 through 10 seeds played in the "first round", the 5 and 6 seeds started play in the "second round", and the 3 and 4 seeds started in the "third round". The top two seeds received byes into the semifinals.


2020 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2020 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament was played between March 5-10, 2020 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Portland was the winner of the WCC Women's Tournament would automatically advance to the 2020 NCAA Tournament.


2020 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
All 10 WCC schools will participate in the tournament. Teams will be seeded by conference record, with the following tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records:


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season
The 2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season is the 33rd season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season, originally scheduled to begin on August 30, 2020 and conclude on November 6, 2020 was postponed to spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the season will begin on February 3, 2021 and conclude on April 11, 2021. The first set of conference games are scheduled for February 28, 2021.


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season
The defending champions are the Saint Mary's Gaels who won the regular season last year (the conference does not host a tournament).


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season, Previous season
The 2019 season began on August 29, 2019 and concluded on November 12, 2019. Saint Mary's won the regular season, and earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Loyola Marymount, the WCC runners-up, earned an at-large bid into the tournament. Saint Mary's earned a first-round bye, and was seeded 12th-overall in the tournament while Loyola Marymount entered in the first round. Loyola Marymount hosted Seattle in the first round and lost 1-3. Saint Mary's hosted UCSB in the second round and lost 0-4.


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season, Previous season
Anders Engebretsen and Miguel Berry were named Co-Players of the Year for the conference. Filippo Zattarin won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Remi Prieur was named Goalkeeper of the Year; Noel Caliskan was named Rookie of the Year, and finally, Adam Cooper was named Coach of the Year.


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season, Previous season
Miguel Berry was selected by Columbus Crew with the 7th overall pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. Chicago Fire drafted Jonathan Jimenez in the first round with the 26th overall pick. Rey Ortiz, Remi Prieur, and Anders Engebretsen were drafted in the Draft.


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season, Postseason, NCAA Tournament
The WCC regular season winner will qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Other teams can still earn an at-large bid into the tournament.


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season, 2021 MLS Draft
The 2021 MLS SuperDraft will be held on January 21, 2021.


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season, Homegrown players
The Homegrown Player Rule is a Major League Soccer program that allows MLS teams to sign local players from their own development academies directly to MLS first team rosters. Before the creation of the rule in 2008, every player entering Major League Soccer had to be assigned through one of the existing MLS player allocation processes, such as the MLS SuperDraft.


2020 West Coast Conference men's soccer season, Homegrown players
To place a player on its homegrown player list, making him eligible to sign as a homegrown player, players must have resided in that club's home territory and participated in the club's youth development system for at least one year. Players can play college soccer and still be eligible to sign a homegrown contract.


2020 West Coast Eagles season
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football team based in Perth, Western Australia. Their 2020 season was their 34th season in the Australian Football League (AFL), their seventh season under premiership coach Adam Simpson, and the first season with Luke Shuey as captain. The West Coast Eagles finished the season with 12 wins and 5 losses, placing them fifth on the ladder, qualifying for the 2020 AFL finals series, in which they were eliminated in the first round by eighth-placed Collingwood. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on their season, with the team forced to hub in Queensland for much of the season due to restrictions on travelling to Western Australia from other states.


2020 West Coast Eagles season
Nic Naitanui was West Coast's best and fairest player, winning the John Worsfold Medal. Previously his highest place for the medal was fifth, in 2010. Josh Kennedy, who kicked 34 goals was the club's leading goal-scorer for the seventh time in his career. Naitanui, Liam Ryan and Brad Sheppard were selected for the 2020 All-Australian team.


2020 West Coast Eagles season
2020 was the first year for West Coast in the AFL Women's competition, in which they finished seventh. In addition, West Coast withdrew from the West Australian Football League competition in 2020 due to COVID-19 after fielding a team for the first time in 2019.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Background
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football team based in Perth, Western Australia, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). They ended the 2019 home-and-away season fifth on the ladder after spending the majority of the season in the top four. Their season ended after being beaten by Geelong in the semi-finals.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Background
In December 2019, Luke Shuey was named captain of the West Coast Eagles, after Shannon Hurn stepped down from the role. Josh Kennedy remained one of the vice-captains, joined by Jeremy McGovern, who replaced Luke Shuey. Jack Darling, Andrew Gaff, Nic Naitanui and Elliot Yeo rounded out the leadership group.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Background
Adam Simpson was head coach for a seventh season. Some of the assistant coaches changed roles; Jaymie Graham swapped from the forward line to the backline, Luke Webster swapped from the WAFL coach to the forwards coach, and Daniel Pratt swapped from backs to stoppages coach. Nathan van Berlo retained his position as midfield coach. The development coaches were Gavin Bell (head of development), Chance Bateman (forwards), Matt Rosa (midfield) and Mark Nicoski (backs).


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Background
In February 2020, as part of West Coast's overall rebrand over the past few years, they released a new version of their club song. The song, which contains a didgeridoo and clapstick intro was written, composed and produced by Ian Berney, and sung by Ian Kenny, both from Perth band Birds of Tokyo.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Background
West Coast's major sponsors for 2020 were fast food outlet Hungry Jack's and online mortgage broker Lendi. The club had 100,776 members in 2020, an 11.4% increase on 2019 membership numbers, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The membership was the highest in the AFL, the first time this happened to a club outside of Victoria.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Playing list, 2019 off-season changes
At the end of their 2019 season, West Coast delisted premiership eagle Chris Masten, Fraser McInnes, Kurt Mutimer and Matthew Allen. In addition, Brodie Riach, Patrick Bines, Keegan Brooksby and Josh Smith from the rookie list were delisted. Brendon Ah Chee and Hamish Brayshaw were also delisted from the primary list, with the Eagles citing it as preparation for the draft. Ah Chee and Brayshaw were later drafted in the 2020 rookie draft.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Playing list, 2019 off-season changes
West Coast's only trade in the 2019 trade period involved receiving Tim Kelly and a 2020 third round pick from Geelong, and pick 52 from Essendon, in exchange for picks 14, 24 and a 2020 first round pick going to Geelong, pick 33 going to Essendon, and Essendon and Geelong exchanging pick 37 and 57. The trade came after Kelly was overlooked by West Coast as a draft pick for five years, instead being drafted by Geelong, where he played the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The trade occurred due to Kelly's desire to return to Western Australia, having previously wanted to trade in the 2018 trade period. Kelly signed a six year deal with West Coast, worth approximately $5 million.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Playing list, 2019 off-season changes
In the 2019 national draft, Callum Jamieson (pick 49) and Ben Johnson (pick 58) were drafted, both of whom are from Western Australia. Francis Watson was elevated from the rookie list, signing on for another year. Anthony Treacy (pick 11), Mitch O'Neill (pick 25), Brendon Ah Chee (pick 33) and Hamish Brayshaw (pick 39) were drafted in the 2020 rookie draft. Nic Reid and Jamaine Jones were added to the rookie list in the supplementary selection period. Jamaine Jones previously played for Geelong in 2018 and 2019, but was delisted at the end of that year.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Playing list, Statistics
West Coast used 37 players from the 45 on its playing list, six of which were debutants. They were Harry Edwards (round 9), Nic Reid (round 12), Xavier O'Neill (round 13), Bailey Williams (round 14), Hamish Brayshaw (round 17) and Luke Foley (round 18). Tim Kelly (round 1) and Jamaine Jones (round 4) also played their first games for West Coast, after having previously played for Geelong. Six players played every match of the season. They were Tom Barrass, Jack Darling, Andrew Gaff, Tim Kelly, Liam Ryan and Brad Sheppard.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Playing list, Statistics
In February 2020, Daniel Venables was ruled out for the entire 2020 season due to concussion as a result of a head knock he suffered in round nine of 2019. Willie Rioli also did not play at all during the 2020 season, having been provisionally suspended for the entire season due to allegedly tampering with two urine tests in August and September 2019. He was eventually sentenced in March 2021 to a two year backdated suspension, starting in August 2019.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
The original fixture for the 2020 season was revealed by the AFL in October 2019. West Coast would have played 22 matches, facing Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, Richmond and Port Adelaide twice, and all other teams once. As part of their pre-season, West Coast faced Essendon and Fremantle in the Marsh Community Series, ending up beaten by both teams. The match against Essendon was originally scheduled for 28 February, but it was rescheduled to the day prior so that it did not occur at the same time as the State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
West Coast played their first game of the regular season on 22 March against Melbourne at Optus Stadium. Melbourne were soundly beaten by 27 points in that match, which was Tim Kelly's first game for the Eagles. The match was played with no spectators present, and occurred just hours after AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan announced that the 2020 AFL season would be suspended until at least the start of June, due to restrictions on interstate travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagles' round 1 match would be the last AFL match to be played for over two months.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
On 25 May, the AFL revealed the revised fixtures for rounds 2 to 5. West Coast were to go into a hub on the Gold Coast for at least four weeks, completing matches only in Queensland for that time. On 8 June, the West Coast team arrived at the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. Their first match after the AFL season continuing was against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium, on 13 June. The Suns thrashed the Eagles by 44 points in an upset, giving the 2019 wooden spooners their first win in 426 days.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
In round 3, West Coast played the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, in which the Lions beat West Coast by 30 points. That was West Coast's first match with crowds attending, with 1,965 spectators at the game. West Coast then played Port Adelaide, the eventual minor premiers at Metricon Stadium, in which the Eagles were beaten 13.11 (89) to 6.5 (41). That game making it three losses in a row for the Eagles, continuing their horror run in the Queensland hub and placing them 16th on the AFL ladder. Jamaine Jones made his West Coast debut that game, and Will Schofield was suspended for one match after headbutting Zak Butters.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
West Coast were scheduled to play Richmond on round 5, but due to Queensland's latest quarantine requirements, West Coast would have had to quarantine for 14 days following a match against a Victorian side. This resulted in the Eagles playing Sydney instead, at Metricon Stadium. West Coast got their first win in the Queensland hub against Sydney, beating them by 30 points. Tom Barrass took a mark of the year contender, and Luke Shuey injured his hamstring, causing him to miss two games.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
The following round, West Coast beat the winless Adelaide by 33 points at the Gabba, in their last game in Queensland before heading home for 7 weeks. During the week prior, Crows ruckman Reilly O'Brien accidentally tweeted that Nic Naitanui was "lazy and unfit", among other notes about the Eagles ruckman. This incident gained notoriety in the days surrounding the round 6 match.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
West Coast's first game at Optus Stadium since round 1 was a Western Derby against Fremantle. The Eagles won 9.8 (62) to 5.2 (32), giving them the longest ever Western Derby winning streak, with 10 wins in a row against Fremantle. Josh Kennedy on his 250th AFL game won the Glendinning–Allan Medal. The game had the largest crowd of any Australian sporting event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In round 8, West Coast beat Collingwood by 66 points. West Coast's 18.3 (111) was the largest score of the season at the time, against Collingwood's 6.9 (45).


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
Josh Kennedy kicked 7 goals in the match. The next round, West Coast beat Geelong by 9 points, putting West Coast fourth on the ladder. The Eagles were behind by 21 points during the 3rd quarter, but were able to make a comeback. Josh Kennedy kicked 4 goals, putting him first in the Coleman Medal race. In round 10, West Coast had a bye.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
Following the bye, West Coast had three more games in a row at Optus Stadium, of which they won all three. The games were against Carlton, with a margin of 22, Hawthorn, with a margin of 32, and Greater Western Sydney, with a margin of 12. Elliot Yeo developed a groin injury against Carlton, resulting in him missing the rest of the season. At the end of those three rounds, West Coast had the longest winning streak of the season, with eight wins in a row, and were fourth on the ladder.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
The round 13 Greater Western Sydney match was the first match in a series of five for West Coast over 19 days, from 23 August to 10 September. On 25 August, the team flew over to Queensland for their second hub in that state. The Eagles stayed Sanctuary Cove resort, on the Gold Coast for their hub.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
West Coast's first match in their second Queensland hub was against Richmond at Metricon Stadium on Thursday, 27 August. Richmond beat West Coast by 27 points, ending their eight game winning streak. Josh Kennedy received a concussion, causing him to miss out on most of the Richmond game and West Coast's next game. The following Tuesday, West Coast faced Essendon, beating them by 15 points, with Liam Ryan kicking four goals. In round 16, after West Coast's second 5 day break in a row, they faced Western Bulldogs, who beat the Eagles in an upset. The margin was 2 points, and the result eventually caused West Coast to miss the top four.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
West Coast were forced to make 6 player changes for their round 17 game against St Kilda, due to injuries. At the time, Brendon Ah Chee, Mark Hutchings, Lewis Jetta, Jack Redden, Dom Sheed, Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo were injured, and Jamie Cripps couldn't be selected due to personal reasons. Despite this, the Eagles won against St Kilda by 15 points, guaranteeing them a finals spot, however Jeremy McGovern injured his hamstring, leaving him out for the final match of the home-and-away season, against North Melbourne.


2020 West Coast Eagles season, Season summary
West Coast won their round 18 match against North Melbourne by 15 points, giving them a small chance of a top 4 finish, but neither Richmond or Geelong lost their matches, causing West Coast to finish 5th at the end of the season, setting them up for an elimination final against Collingwood.