There was only one player who could handle getting picked last. The plan, all along, was for that to be him. When the players filtered down to two, just Vargas and reliever Jordan Weems remained. The team captained by CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas had the selection. A minor league coach made his case for Vargas, imitating a hand-off in the crouching position that the 32-year-old is familiar with as an infielder. But that simply delayed the inevitable. Thomas and Abrams took Weems, leaving Vargas to slam his hat on the turf.
“It was pre-planned,” Thomas said.
Thomas’ team won in the final, beating out the team captained by MacKenzie Gore and Hunter Harvey, who landed Vargas by default. Such is life for the clubhouse culture guy for the Nationals. Vargas is now on his fifth team, in his third year as a National and signed through the end of 2024.
“It’s the love I have for the game and for my teammates,” Vargas said through an interpreter, when asked where his energy comes from. “I’m trying to do everything I can to help them and hope they do the best.”
Vargas not only embraces the role, he self-assigns it. He greets teammates, Nationals staffers and members of the media as “campeón!” (champion). If it is quiet, he is loud. If it is loud, he is often the reason why. Above his locker in West Palm Beach, he had a sign printed that read: TODAY IS TODAY. TOMORROW IS TOMORROW. — ILDEMARO VARGAS.
Vargas admits it’s not really his quote; he says credit goes to his grandma, Mama Rosa. She is 103 and still lives in Venezuela. Though she always told him to calm down, he never learned. They write and talk often during the season. Across his right bicep, he has a tattoo in her likeness with a rose underneath.
“Basically what she was trying to say is live today because you don’t know what can happen tomorrow because tomorrow is not guaranteed,” said Vargas, who lives with Mama Rosa in the offseason.
Teammates speak glowingly of the utility infielder, who hit .252 last year and sports an above-average glove. His demeanor won’t change whether the team wins or loses — the latter of which it did 107 times two years ago and 91 times last year. When asked if his energy extends beyond the baseball field, he grinned and said he’s even worse off it. On a rare, quieter day, teammates will check in on him.
“They’ll come over, and say ‘you all right, something’s going on? We need you over here. We need to liven up the party a little bit and get that energy going.’ ” Vargas said. “So I think they enjoy it as well.”
It all starts with his catchphrases. There’s the aforementioned “campeón!” Last year, when infielder Trey Lipscomb arrived at camp, Vargas often told him “welcome to the best team.” In games Thomas led off last year, Vargas would yell out “1-0,” insinuating that Thomas would always hit a home run. Joey Gallo, who joined the Nationals this offseason and has a locker next to Vargas, said there are too many lines to name.
“It’s like every week, he has a new one,” Gallo said. “Trying to keep up with him and his phrases is always fun. So I’m happy that he’s next to me,…
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