By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It’s perhaps fitting that in what’s likely to be Jayson Werth’s final season with the Washington Nationals, the Philadelphia Phillies were the team that the Nationals defeated to win their second consecutive National League East title. He says that when he initially signed with the Nationals, no one would have seen that coming.
Werth spoke to the Nationals Radio Network after the Nationals clinched the National League East title Sunday, and said that he’s gotten the last laugh after some critics panned him signing with the Nationals after the 2010 season:
Jayson Werth, on Nats radio: "When I signed here seven years ago, everyone thought I was an idiot. Look who's laughing now."
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) September 10, 2017
While Werth’s first season in Washington didn’t go especially well – he batted .232 for a Nationals team that finished 21.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East – he’s certainly had more team success in Washington than he would have in Philadelphia.
Now in the final year of a seven-year/$126 million deal, Werth is headed to the playoffs for the fourth time in seven seasons in Washington, while the Phillies haven’t had a winning season since the aforementioned year of 2011.
But even as someone that believes the treatment Werth has gotten in returns to Philadelphia has been ridiculous, it’s also rather silly for Werth to act as though he signed in D.C. because he thought the Nationals would make the playoffs four times in seven years. Werth may have been intrigued by the debut of Stephen Strasburg in 2010 and the No. 1 overall selection of Bryce Harper that same summer, but they weren’t why he signed with the Nationals. He left the Phillies because they didn’t give him a competitive offer that offseason, and the Nationals, in the opinion of many at the time, overpaid him.
Jayson Werth: 'I'll probably have a game' when Phillies celebrate 10-year anniversary of 2008 title
He may have told Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this year that he was focused on winning when he joined the Nationals, but he also privately told Ed Condran of Philly Voice in August of 2010 that he would only get one chance to cash in during his career, and he didn’t expect that chance to come in Philadelphia.
And that’s fine. Werth earned the right to sign a large contract in his career, and Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies made that decision pretty easy that winter when they low-balled Werth prior to paying Cliff Lee a higher average annual salary than what Werth ultimately got.
What Werth has gotten in seven seasons with the Nationals is the best of both worlds. He’s gotten his chance to make a ton of money, while also playing in an organization that’s been competitive for nearly every season that he’s been there. Whether he expected that or not, he is getting the last laugh.
The 38-year-old, who has the most postseason home runs in Phillies history, will now attempt to stay healthy and get one last laugh this postseason.
