- 2001
- 2005
- 2006
- 2008
- 2019
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MLB Takes Over Ownership Nationals
Without a viable owner willing to operate the team in Montreal, it was widely thought that the sale of the Expos to MLB was the first step in the process of either moving the team or folding it all together. Although their attendance increased from 7,935 per game in 2001 to 10,031 in 2002, MLB decided that the Expos would ... -
Move to Washington
On September 29, 2004, MLB announced that the Expos would move to Washington, D.C. in 2005. The Expos played their final game on October 3 at Shea Stadium, losing by a score of 8–1 against the New York Mets, the same opponent that the Expos first faced at its start, 35 years earlier. On November 15, a lawsuit by the ... -
Ted Lerner Ownership
When Ted Lerner took over the club in mid-2006, he hired Stan Kasten as team president. Kasten was widely known as the architect of the Atlanta Braves before and during their run of 14 division titles. Kasten was also the general manager or president of many other Atlanta-area sports teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers. “The Plan”, as ... -
Nationals Park
Finally, on March 5, Major League Baseball signed a lease for a new ballpark, agreeing to the city’s $611 million cap. MLB also agreed to contribute $20 million toward the cost of the stadium, although it did not agree to cover stadium overruns. Further, MLB added the condition that excess ballpark tax revenue earmarked for debt service for the bonds ... -
World Series Winner 2019
The 2019 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2019 season. The 115th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League champion Houston Astros and the National League champion Washington Nationals. The series was played from October 22 to October 30. The Nationals won the series, four games to three, ...
History of the Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadium while a new stadium was being built. In 2008, they moved into Nationals Park, located on South Capitol Street in the Southeast quadrant of D.C., near the Anacostia River.
The Nationals are the eighth major league franchise to be based in Washington, D.C. and the first since 1971. The current franchise was founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos as part of a four-team expansion. After a failed contraction plan, the Expos were purchased by MLB, which sought to relocate the team to a new city. Washington, D.C. was chosen in 2004, and the Nationals were established in 2005 as the first MLB franchise relocation since the third Washington Senators moved to Texas in 1971.
Established
1969
City
Montreal – Washington D.C.
League History
2000 – Present / Major League Baseball
1969 – 1999 / National League
Team History
2005 – Present / Washington Nationals
1969 – 2004 / Montreal Expos
Nickname
Nationals – Washington’s original baseball team was interchangeably referred to as the Senators and Nationals, or Nats for short, for most of its time in the District before relocating to Minnesota in 1960. Washington’s 1961 expansion franchise was known almost exclusively as the Senators until it moved to Texas after the 1971 season. When the Montreal Expos relocated to the nation’s capital in 2005, the team revived the “Nationals” nickname.
Championship
World Series 1
2019
Stadium
2008 – Present / Nationals Park
2005 – 2007 / Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
*Montreal*
1977 – 2004 / Olympic Stadium
1969 – 1976 / Jarry Park Stadium
Owner
2006 – Present / Theodore N. Lerner
2002 – 2006 / Major League Baseball
1999 – 2002 / Jeffrey Loria
1991 – 1999 / Claude Brochu
1969 – 1991 / Charles Bronfman
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
42 / Jackie Robinson
*Blue is this team’s history