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WASHINGTON NATIONALS

The Washington Nationals were founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos and were part of MLB expansion that saw four teams added that season. The Nationals are not the first franchise to be based in the nation’s capital. They are the eighth.

The failing Expos were purchased by MLB as it sought to move to the team to a new city. In 2005, the Nationals were established in Washington, D.C., as the first team to relocate since the third version of the Washington Senators moved to Texas in 1971.

The defending World Series champions have the opportunity to play several games that are part of national telecasts on ESPN, FOX Sports, and the MLB Network. Fans in the area can watch almost the entire Washington Nationals schedule on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, also known as MASN. Games are also available via live stream on the FOX Sports GO app and at MLB.TV.

HOME OF THE NATIONALS

When the franchise was moved to Washington, D.C., the Nationals were temporarily housed at RFK Stadium. Nationals Park, the team’s current home, was completed in 2008 and opened on March 30 as the Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2. Nationals Park currently seats 41,339 spectators.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

The franchise has had a history of failures until recently. While in Montreal, the Expos won just one division title in 1981. The Expos won the NLDS but lost an MLB league championship series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It took eight years after the move for the Nationals to win their first division title in 2012. The franchise now has five NL East titles (1981, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017). The Nationals also claimed a playoff berth in 2019 with an MLB wild card after a second-place finish in the NL East.

The Nationals won the franchise’s first World Series in 2019 defeating the Houston Astros in seven games.

BEST OF THE NATIONALS

Because of the franchise’s relative youth, the best in Nationals’ history primarily come from the old Expos. Gary Carter played the first 11 years of his 19-year MLB career in Montreal. The catcher was an 11-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner and finished his Hall of Fame career with 324 home runs.

One of Carter’s teammates was outfielder Andre Dawson, also a Hall of Famer. Dawson was an eight-time All-Star and was the 1977 NL Rookie of the Year. He won seven Gold Glove awards as an Expo and Dawson is one of just eight MLB players with at least 300 home runs (438) and 300 stolen bases in his career.

Tim Raines also played with Carter and Dawson and, like his teammates, is in the Hall of Fame. All seven of his All-Star appearances came as a member of the Expos. Raines was known for his speed and base-stealing ability. He was the NL stolen base leader four times (1981-84). Raines also won the 1986 NL batting title finishing his career with 2,605 hits and a .294 career batting average.

It was Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off home run that won the first-ever game at Nationals Park. Zimmerman has played his entire 16-year MLB career with Washington. He is a two-time All-Star and was one of the big reasons why the Nationals were able to win their first World Series in 2019.