Curtis Mead’s break with the Washington Nationals is colliding with a different kind of competition: Australia’s World Cup opener and the U.S. men’s national team’s looming matchup. For Mead, the soccer showdown is background noise to a baseball run that has m
WASHINGTON—Curtis Mead will be back on the field Friday. June 19. preparing for baseball even as his Australian countrymen take on the U.S. men’s national team in World Cup group play. It’s an unusual overlap for a Nationals third baseman who says he isn’t exactly a soccer aficionado. but he’s been paying attention.
Mead was pleased with the Aussies after they opened with a victory over Turkey. With Australia ranked 22nd by FIFA and the Americans 15th, he sees the matchup as a rare setup where the pressure shifts, and the outcome doesn’t need to be guaranteed to matter.
“The cool thing for the Australians,” Mead tells this newsroom, “is it’s kind of the win-win: Not expected to win, so just go out there and give it their best and see what happens.”
That “win-win” feeling lands in a very different place for Mead and the Washington Nationals, because this season has already turned into something close to the best-case scenario. He is winning—so is the team.
Mead, acquired as an end-of-spring, end-of-the-roster afterthought, is now the No. 3 hitter for what has become one of the most prolific offenses in baseball. The Nationals’ performance has moved from early-season surprise to staying power: they have crawled four games above .500 for the first time in seven years.
The turnaround story is also personal. Mead was once a notable prospect, passed through three organizations in eight months. Then, after a March 28 trade from the Chicago White Sox, he found his footing quickly—and with authority.
A confidence boost from an old mentor mattered. Nationals manager Blake Butera told Mead he didn’t need to “prove it” after coming to Washington.
“The one thing Blake said is, the cool thing about you coming here is we know you’re a good player. So you don’t need to feel you gotta prove it to us,” Mead said, describing Butera as someone who managed him in low Class A when both were in the Tampa Bay organization.
Mead said the change in pressure helped him play freer. “Which was nice. I felt like every stop I’ve had in the big leagues, I’ve felt the need to prove my worth a little bit. I think that’s the biggest thing here, is the pressure being off here and just playing the game.”
In that release, the results have followed.
Since May 21, in 21 games, Mead has posted an .882 OPS and hit seven home runs. His most recent came June 16 against Kansas City, when he launched a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh inning after the Royals clawed back to tie the game in the top of that inning.
For a club currently positioned in the playoff picture—39-36 and hanging in—those swings have come at exactly the right moments. The Nationals have seen their own bullpen struggles: a bullpen ranked 23rd in the majors blows a lead, only for the offense to rescue them.
Mead described the feeling after smacking his 11th home run of the season and the 16th of his career.
“I haven’t hit a whole lot of big league homers,” he said. “But that one was extra special.”
He added that he was aware of the moment. “I felt like a couple times early in the year I didn’t come through in those moments. It’s more enjoyable when I do. I felt like I tried to hit the three-run homer with nobody on base.”
Butera’s role has been less about reinvention and more about recognition. The youngest manager in the major leagues since 1972—Butera is 33—came in with an eye for what Mead can be when he isn’t constantly fighting for his place.
Butera and bench coach Michael Johns were minor league managers. and then field coordinators. in the Rays organization when Mead rose into the upper third of Top 100 prospect lists. Mead had been acquired by Tampa Bay in exchange for left-hander Cristopher Sánchez—a deal that looked worse later as the Phillies ace reached All-Star status while Mead languished.
After receiving sporadic at-bats for part of three seasons with the Rays, Mead was dealt to the White Sox last July. Between the Rays and White Sox, he recorded a career-high 264 plate appearances, with three home runs and a 74 adjusted OPS.
Then came the move to Washington on March 28, where Butera said he hadn’t forgotten the version of Mead who played like a pro-ready corner infielder: a 6-1, 225-pound player with decent power and a smattering of speed.
Steer into that guy, Butera said.
“I’ve seen Curtis at his best, in the minor leagues with the Rays when he was one of the best prospects in baseball. I think there’s something to be said when you don’t have to prove to people that you’re good,” Butera said. “When someone’s in your corner, in the dugout, it helps you just go play.”
In the early days with the club, that spotlight took time to land. Mead received just 33 plate appearances in his first two weeks. The Nationals were also committed to giving prospect Brady House a long runway at third base.
Even as he played largely against left-handers, Mead kept asking how he could get more at-bats against right-handers. Butera’s response, he said, was simple: “Hit lefties really well.”
Mead complied. He has slugged .520 with an .861 OPS against left-handers. After House struck out 50 times in his first 44 games, the club optioned him to Class AAA on May 19. A couple days later, Mead’s tear began.
Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile pointed to the work behind the surge. “I know at the beginning of the year it probably wasn’t what he wanted and expected. playing-wise. but he’s definitely earned everything he has so far. ” Lile said. “He works hard. he’s a great guy on and off the field and I just love talking baseball stuff with him. “I’m happy he’s a part of this whole rebuilding.”.
Mead’s rise isn’t confined to the clubhouse. It has also put him deeper into the story of Australian baseball, where the modern era has its own small but proud list of players.
Mead now trails only 1990s stalwarts Dave Nilsson and Craig Shipley in modern era plate appearances—a quick climb after his methodical rise that began when the Phillies signed him at age 17 to a $200,000 bonus.
As a youth, Mead said he was partial to Australian rules football and baseball over soccer. He took a shine to infielder Tim Kennelly, who dominated with the Perth Heat, spent eight seasons in the Phillies organization, and reached Class AAA in 2012.
“I remember going out to watch my local team take on Perth,” Mead said, “and Tim’s playing and kicking our ass most weeks.”
This spring carried a different kind of full-circle moment. Mead was teammates with Kennelly on the last of the 39-year-old’s four trips to the World Baseball Classic. Led by Mead and Rookie of the Year candidate Travis Bazzana of the Cleveland Guardians. the Aussies went 2-2 in the WBC. with losses to Japan and Korea preventing them from advancing out of pool play.
“It was pretty special to get the group together,” Mead said. “I was really proud of the group and it was an honor for me to play for my country.”
The Socceroos are living through that same tournament tension now. When Australia tips off against the USMNT at 3 ET Friday, Mead will be in Tampa Bay for the Nationals’ interleague series.
There may be a little extra football in his thoughts, but there won’t be any manufactured rivalry inside the Nationals’ clubhouse. Mead’s support can stretch across two hemispheres.
Before many of Mead’s at-bats at Nationals Park, a small throng of fans will serenade him with the iconic “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi” chant, as if he were a gold medalist swimmer or rugby star.
“It’s pretty cool,” Mead said. “It’s been pretty special and cool to see how the city of DC has embraced me, which is nice.”
Curtis Mead Washington Nationals MLB Blake Butera World Cup Socceroos USMNT Australia vs United States Travis Bazzana Tim Kennelly