WASHINGTON--No Nationals players were hurt when the team's chartered Amtrak train derailed early Monday morning returning from New York, and the only inconvenience was an excessively late night.
Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said the rear wheel of the locomotive pulling three cars filled with approximately 50 Nationals players, coaches and officials lost contact with the track at approximately 1:30 a.m. north of Wilmington, Del.
Connell said the cause of the derailment was still being investigated.
She said the train was traveling approximately 30 mph and the cars remained upright after the derailment, but Nationals manager Frank Robinson called the incident "hair-raising."
"It was like two big bumps and then we slowed down to a stop real quick," Nationals third base coach Tony Beasley said. "It's a good thing we weren't going any faster."
Beasley was sitting with Robinson and many of the team's coaches in the car immediately following the locomotive.
Most of the team's players were in the final two cars and didn't notice the derailment. Mark Lerner, the Nationals' principal owner, and his wife, Judy, were also with the team.
Catcher Brian Schneider was playing cards with several of his teammates when the train car began to vibrate, the lights went off and the locomotive came to a quick stop.
"Obviously if we had been going faster it would've been bad, real bad," Schneider said. "Fortunately we weren't going that fast."
As it was, the only inconvenience to the team was a late night, and the incident hasn't caused the Nationals to rethink their preferred method of travel to New York and Philadelphia.
"I love the train," Schneider said.
After boarding the Acela train, the team arrived at Union Station shortly before 5 a.m. Many of the team's players didn't reach their homes until 6 a.m.
The Nationals canceled batting practice before yesterday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies and many of the team's players straggled in less than two hours before the game.
"It was just like being delayed at an airport or something like that," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "You just had to sit there. It wasn't scary."
Johnson updateFirst baseman Nick Johnson, who fractured his right femur in a violent collision with right fielder Austin Kearns Saturday, will be transferred to Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, N.Y., today, team officials said.
Johnson had surgery late Saturday night, and he will spend seven to 10 days in White Plains before returning to Washington. He'll be examined by team doctor Ben Shaffer and will continue his rehabilitation at home in Sacramento, Calif.
Kearns came away from the collision with a sore left side, but after missing his third game yesterday, he said he was ready to return to the field.
"I am getting better," Kearns said. "It's getting a lot better the last couple days. I would think I would play [today] actually with the way I feel."
Hometown hero?Former Montreal Expos Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, who played 10 years in Montreal but never played a day in Washington, was named the D.C. recipient of Major League Baseball's Hometown Hero Award.
Fans voted online for the award and picked Carter over former Expos and Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez, Expos great Rusty Staub, current second baseman Jose Vidro and Schneider, the Nationals' current catcher.
Former Senators players were left off the ballot, as was Expos slugger Vladimir Guerrero.
Extra basesPitching coach Randy St. Claire (pneumonia) was released from a New York hospital yesterday, but he was not in uniform yesterday. He was replaced by bullpen coach Randy Knorr.
With Monday's win, right-handed rookie Beltran Perez became the fourth pitcher in franchise history to win his first two starts.
To reach TODD JACOBSON:
Email: tjacobson@freelancestar.com