Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington DC. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 2005 to 2007, the Nationals played in Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. more...

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Washington Nationals
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The "Nationals" name originates from the two former Washington baseball teams who held the same name (used interchangeably with "Senators"). They are nicknamed "the Nats", a shortened version of the Nationals name that was also used by the old DC teams.

An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1969. Then the Montreal Expos, the team was the first team in Canada, and played its home games at Jarry Park, then later, in Olympic Stadium. The team saw very little success, their most successful season coming in the strike-shortened season of 1994, which cancelled the end of the season, stopping the Expos from making it into the postseason. It is considered that this is what killed baseball in Montreal, and the team would eventually leave in 2005, moving to Washington to become the Nationals. This was the first complete relocation in Major League Baseball since 1972, when the Washington Senators left DC to become the Texas Rangers. They are one of four teams to have never played in a World Series, never having won a league championship. They have only made it to one league championship series, their only playoff appearance, which was under the strange circumstances of the 1981 season.

The team is expected to move into a new ballpark, located in Southeast D.C. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol building, in the spring of 2008.

Montreal Expos (1969-2004)

The Montreal Expos joined the National League in 1969, along with the San Diego Padres. After a decade of losses, the team became a winner in the early 1980s, winning their only division championship in the strike-shortened split season of 1981. That team lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in the National League Championship Series. After several mediocre years in the late 1980s, the team rebounded in the early 1990s. In 1994 the Expos, led by a talented group of players including Larry Walker, Moisés Alou, Marquis Grissom and Pedro Martínez, had the best record in major league baseball when the 1994 Major League Baseball strike forced the cancellation of the remainder of the season. After the disappointment of 1994, the Expos began to lose players, money and fans. Ownership squabbles, the decimated fan base, a difficulty in selling broadcasting rights, and numerous other issues led to the team being bought by MLB in 2002.

Relocation to Washington

Washington is a city with a rich baseball history. The Washington Senators, a founding member of the American League, played in the nation's capital from 1901 to 1960. These Senators were founded and owned by Clark Griffith and played in Griffith Stadium. With notable stars including Walter Johnson and Joe Cronin, the Senators won the 1924 World Series and pennants in 1925 and 1933, but were more often unsuccessful and moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season. A second Washington Senators (1961-1971) had a winning record only once in their 11 years, though bright spots, such as slugger Frank Howard, earned the love of fans. The second Senators moved to Texas for the 1972 season, and Washington spent the next 33 years without a baseball team.

Read more at Wikipedia.org