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The Washington Nationals is a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Washington, D.C.. It relocated to Washington from Montréal, Québec, Canada after the 2004 season. Although initally annouced on September 29, 2004, the move to Washington remained uncertain until a final vote by the D.C. City Council on December 21. The council had sought changes in the agreement struck by Mayor Anthony A. Williams with MLB that required the city to use public financing for a new stadium to be built for the 2008 season. The dispute lead to MLB temporarily shutting down business and promotional operations for the franchise on December 15. However, the two sides were able to devise a plan that allows for a degree of private financing for the stadium while ensuring that a stadium will be in place for 2008. The Nationals will play the 2005–2007 seasons at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which will be renovated to accomodate the team. The new stadium will be located in Southeast D.C. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol building. Missing image Nationals_200x151.jpg The Washington Nationals' primary logo was unveiled on November 22, 2004.
Franchise history The Montréal Expos joined the National League in 1969, along with the San Diego Padres. They were named for Expo 67, a world's fair that was held in Montréal. Their home stadium was Jarry Park, in Montréal. The Expos suffered through 10 straight losing seasons under their first manager, Gene Mauch (1969-1975) and three other managers. In 1979 they posted their first winning record with a 95-65 record, under manager Dick Williams. They would post five consecutive winning seasons, including their only division championship, in the split season of 1981. They defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in the divisional series, but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in the National League Championship Series. Montréal was led through these years by a core group of young players, including catcher Gary Carter, outfielders Tim Raines and Andre Dawson, third baseman Larry Parrish and pitchers Steve Rogers and Bill Gullickson. The Expos had several mediocre years in the mid 1980s under manager Buck Rodgers, but rebuilt and under manager Felipe Alou, who took the position midway through the 1992 season, finished second in the National League East in both 1992 and 1993. 1994 proved to be heart-breaking for the Expos. With a very talented group of players, including outfielders Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Marquis Grissom and pitchers Ken Hill, John Wetteland and a young Pedro Martinez, the Expos had the best record in major league baseball, 74-40 when the strike forced the end of the season. The Expos lost most of their star players through free agency and trades since the 1994 season and have produced poor records since except for a second place finish in 1996 and a few respectable seasons in 2002 and 2003. However, they continued their losing trend by posting a 67-95 record in 2004 after losing superstar Vladimir Guerrero to free agency during the previous offseason. Montréal was often cited as an example of a small-market team, unable to compete with teams in bigger markets such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and therfore no longer a viable competitor. Jeffrey Loria, the last owner prior to the team's purchase by Major League Baseball, made some personnel moves, however the future of the franchise in Montréal never appeared strong. Attendance in the 2001 season was usually fewer than 10,000 people. On November 7, 2001, Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig announced that major league baseball would undergo a contraction of two teams, after a 28-2 vote by the owners. Montréal was one of the dissenting franchises. On February 14, 2002, after a 30-0 vote, Major League Baseball formed a Delaware partnership (Expos Baseball, LP) to buy the Expos for US $120,000,000 with the intent of eliminating the franchise along with the Minnesota Twins. Following legal maneuvers that prevented the Twins from being shuttered, followed by a collective bargaining agreement between MLB and its players association which prohibited "contraction" through 2006, the team survived. Major League Baseball named Frank Robinson manager and Omar Minaya as vice-president and general manager. In 2003, the team played 22 of its home games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, despite having the highest percentage attendance increase in 2002 to go with a second place finish in the National League East. Despite being a considerably smaller facility (it seats approximately 19,000) than Montréal's Olympic Stadium, Bithorn regularly outdrew the attendance in Montréal. Thanks in large part to the San Juan games, the Expos were able to draw over a million fans at home in 2003 for the first time since 1998. The players' union initially rejected continuing that arrangement for the 2004 season, but later relented. Meanwhile, the league actively looked for a relocation site. Some of the choices included Washington D.C., San Juan, Monterrey, Mexico, Portland, Oregon, Northern Virginia, and Norfolk, Virginia. In the decision-making process, Selig added Las Vegas, Nevada to the list of potential Expos homes. On September 29, 2004, MLB officially announced that the Expos would move to Washington D.C. in 2005. The move was approved by the owners of the other teams in a 29–1 vote on December 3. (Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos voted against the move.) In addition, on November 15, 2004, a lawsuit by the former team owners against MLB and former majority owner Jeffrey Loria was struck down by arbitrators, ending legal moves to keep the Expos in Montréal. During December, the move was called into question when the D.C. City Council sought to change details of the financing for a new stadium MLB sought for the Nationals. When the council voted on December 14 to require 50 percent private financing for any new stadium, MLB ceased promotional activites for the Nationals; however, after further adjustments were made by both parties and revised agreement was passed by the council on December 21 setting the stage for the Washington Nationals to begin play in 2005. The league must also decide who will be allowed to purchase the franchise. The frontrunners are a group called the Washington Baseball Club, and the speculative cost is between $200 and $300 million dollars. The Montreal Expos were enfranchised to play in the National League beginning in 1969. Despite varied levels of success on the field, the franchise's relationship with its fans was permanently damaged by the 1994 players' strike. Following nearly a decade in which the team underwent several ownership changes, attendance and overall interest in the team dwindled, Major League Baseball acquired the club (operating as a separate partnership called Baseball Expos, LP) with the intent of contracting it along with the Minnesota Twins (who, coincidentally, once played as the original Washington Senators!). The concept of contracting the Twins and Expos died, however, when the owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association came to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. After a prolonged period of negotiation, in September 2004 MLB announced the team would be relocated to Washington D.C. for the 2005 season. The move was announced despite opposition from Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Since 1972, the Orioles have been the sole MLB franchise in the Baltimore-Washington metropolis. However, a deal is being negotiated to protect the Orioles against any financial harm the Nationals might present to the Baltimore market. (Washington is approximately 35 miles south of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Orioles have played their home games since 1992.) Historic games
Moving processAs of December 2004, despite various announcements regarding the move and MLB officials going forward with plans to field the team in Washington for 2005. The team's relocation had been contingent on a financing plan for the Nationals' stadium — a plan that has been the subject of much debate on the D.C. City Council. The ballpark proposal is controversial; many city residents oppose government subsidies for a multi-billion-dollar private business and would prefer the land and money to focus on schools rather than a ballpark. Three Council members who supported Williams' plan were ousted in September's Democratic primary. An opinion poll conducted by the Washington Post found that approximately two-thirds of District residents oppose the mayor's stadium plan. Despite this, the council passed an amended plan on December 21, 2004, that is slightly more financially favorable to the city, yet still acceptable to MLB. Mayor Anthony Williams signed the stadium financing package on December 30. Major League Baseball is now looking to sell the team and is accepting $100,000 deposits from interested ownership groups. Washington's baseball historyWashington has previously had two failed franchises in modern baseball, both known as the Washington Senators. There were, however, older Washington teams in now-defunct leagues named the Washington Nationals, and the original Washington Senators were also named the Nationals from 1901 to 1956. The name "Washington Senators" is presently the intellectual property of the Texas Rangers, who had previously operated under that name from 1961 to 1971. The original Senators were renamed the Minnesota Twins in 1961. It is anticipated that the Nationals will continue to play in the East Division of the National League, as opposed to the American League, where the nearby Baltimore Orioles currently reside. The past failures of Washington franchises has made some place doubt on whether Washington will actually be a better market than Montreal long term, although Major League Baseball does not express such doubt, and proponents of the move argue that the failure of previous franchises has more to do with bad business decisions on the part of their owners than with any lack of popular support in the region itself. Minor league affiliates
Players of noteBaseball Hall of FamersCurrent playersPitchers
Catchers Infielders Outfielders Not to be forgotten
Retired numbers
External links
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:: About Us This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Montreal Expos". |