Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals (nicknamed The Nats) are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Washington, D.C. The original Washington Nationals (more commonly known as the Senators) moved to Minneapolis in 1961 becoming the Minnesota Twins. Prior to the 2005 season, the current Nationals team played in Montreal as the Montreal Expos. The team's relocation was the first in Major League Baseball since 1972, when the Washington Senators moved to Texas, becoming the Texas Rangers. The franchise has been owned by Major League Baseball since 2002, although on May 3, 2006, a new ownership group was selected. Theodore N. Lerner has agreed to pay Baseball's price of $450 million for the franchise, and the league has said that it will fast-track the Lerners' approval process and vote on the Nationals' purchaser in time for the league's next owners' meeting May 17-18 in New York. Lerner is expected to take possession in June.

The Nationals are a member of the National League's Eastern Division (both previous Nationals/Senators teams played in the American League), and they currently play at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which was previously the ballpark for the second Senators team. 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)

Main article: Montreal Expos

The Montréal Expos joined the National League in 1969, along with the San Diego Padres. After a decade of losing, 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 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

After several years in a holding pattern, MLB began actively looking for a relocation site for the Expos. Some of the choices included Oklahoma City; Washington D.C.; San Juan; Monterrey, Mexico; Portland, Oregon; Northern Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia; and Charlotte, North Carolina. In the decision-making process, Commissioner Bud 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 DC 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 cast the sole dissenting vote). 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.

The move was announced despite opposition from Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. From 1972 to 2004, the Orioles were the sole MLB franchise in the Baltimore-Washington metropolis. Obtaining the Orioles' cooperation was essential: the Baltimore and Washington regions had always been considered part of the same market, one which the Orioles' had had exclusive control over since 1972 (the original Washington Senators had waived their exclusivity rights to the region to allow the Orioles, then the St. Louis Browns, to move to Baltimore in 1953). On March 31, 2005, a deal was struck between Peter Angelos and Major League Baseball in order to protect the Orioles against any financial harm the Nationals might present to the Orioles' market (Washington is approximately 35 miles south of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Orioles have played their home games since 1992). Under the terms of the deal, television and radio broadcast rights to Nationals games are handled by the Orioles franchise, who formed a new network (the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network) to produce and distribute the games for both franchises on both local affiliates and cable/satellite systems.

The ballpark controversy

The team's relocation to Washington was contingent on a financing plan for the Nationals' stadium — a plan that was 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 Mayor Anthony Williams's plan were ousted in September 2004's Democratic party primary. An opinion poll conducted by the Washington Post found that approximately two thirds of District residents oppose the mayor's stadium plan.

Some controversy arises over the fact that the city is helping finance a $581 million dollar stadium without state or county support, despite the fact that a large portion of the team's fan base is drawn from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs. ^*

During December 2004, the move to Washington itself was called into question when the DC City Council sought to change details of the stadium's financing. When the council voted on December 14 to require 50 percent private financing for any new stadium, MLB ceased promotional activities for the Nationals and announced that they would consider looking for a new market.

Eventually, the council passed an amended plan on December 21, 2004, that proved slightly more financially favorable to the city, while remaining acceptable to MLB. Mayor Williams signed the stadium financing package on December 30.

During the 2005 season, a private financing plan for construction of the stadium was negotiated between the city and a syndicate of bankers led by Deutsche Bank. The negotiations of the details ran into another problem in November 2005. The bankers requested a letter of credit or other financial guarantee of $24 million US, $6 million for each of four years, ensuring payment of lease revenues against various risks including poor attendance and terrorism. The city requested that Major League Baseball provide this guarantee, which has not happened as of December 2005.

Major League Baseball had agreed at the time that the franchise was moved to Washington, DC, to sell the team to an owner or ownership syndicate. Several dates for sale of the team have been set and missed. As of April 2006, the team is still owned by Major League Baseball. Eight syndicates have made offers for the team, of which three are considered front-runners. Major League Baseball, in November 2005, stated that it would not select an owner until the stadium financing plan was finalized, but finalization of the plan has been stalled due to the letter of credit issue. This delay has been harshly criticized by city residents and leaders as reported in the Washington Post.

On December 22, 2005, the Post reported that Major League Baseball had specifically instructed bidders not to offer to pay cost overruns on the stadium if they were selected as the owners. Bidders were also told not to communicate with the press about these issues.

In February 2006, the DC City Council imposed a $611 million cap on the stadium.

Finally, on March 5, Major League Baseball signed a lease for a new ballpark, 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 to be available for cost overruns. Two days later, on March 7 the DC City Council, by a vote of 9 to 4, approved a construction contract for a state-of-the-art stadium with a contemporary glass-and-stone facade, seats for 41,000 fans and a view of the U.S. Capitol, and affirmed its demand that public spending on the project be limited to $611 million. The votes were the final actions needed to satisfy the terms of the deal struck in September 2004.

Viability of the Washington baseball market

Due to the history of Washington franchises (See Washington Senators), there are doubts about whether Washington will actually be a better market for a pro baseball team than Montréal long term. Major League Baseball does not express such doubts, and proponents of the move argue that the failure of previous franchises has more to do with poor business decisions and financial management on the part of their owners than with any lack of popular support in the region itself.

Some analysts ^* have pointed out that Washington may be less suited than some other cities to support baseball because it is primarily an African-American city (59%), and that African-Americans generally support baseball less than whites. Past Washington Senators teams have blamed poor attendance partially on lack of attendance by African-Americans. Washington has larger and whiter suburbs than it did in the 60s, so some analysts believe this will be a less important factor than in the past. Still, both versions of the Senators only finished in the first half of the American League in attendance in 9 out of 71 seasons; the worst percentage of any team in Major League Baseball history that played for more than two seasons, including the Expos. The only season the Senators finished with more than one million in attendance was 1946, when baseball attendance was radically up nationwide due to the return of servicemen from World War II.

Though partially a product of the team's surprising 2005 first half showing, the Nationals' midseason attendance totals exceeded the Expos' 2004 total attendance. The final attendance for the 2005 season was 2,731,993; the 2005 total in Washington, D.C. exceeded the previous three seasons in Montréal combined (2002-2004) and was 11th in MLB. Nevertheless, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf - MLB's point-man on the Nationals - later expressed disappointment in the first season's attendance, noting that it compared unfavorably with the first seasons of recent expansion teams The counterargument to Mr. Reinsdorf is that the Nationals did not have a good local radio contract (broadcasting on a station with a weak signal which could not be heard in most of the region), did not have a good local TV contract (most cable users did not have access to the games), and spent little or no money on advertising. However, in the early days of the 2006 season - their second in the major leagues - the Nationals' attendance showed signs of even further decline ^*.

In the 2006 annual estimates made by Forbes Magazine, the Nationals were the 5th most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball at $440 million ^*.

Notable firsts from the 2005 season

On April 4, 2005, Brad Wilkerson had the honor of being the first batter for the Washington Nationals and he promptly responded with the first hit in the new team's history. Nevertheless, Kenny Lofton hit a three-run homer and Jon Lieber pitched 5 2/3 effective innings, leading the home team Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-4 victory over the new Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Outfielder Terrmel Sledge hit the team's first home run in that contest.
On April 6, 2005, the Washington Nationals won their first-ever regular season game by beating the Phillies, 7-3. The win came in their second game of the season and was highlighted by Wilkerson's hit for the cycle.
On April 14, 2005, the Washington Nationals won their first regular season home game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C, by a score of 5-3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. President George W. Bush kept up a tradition of sitting U.S. Presidents by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day in Washington, exactly 95 years after William Howard Taft started the tradition at Griffith Stadium. 45,596 fans were in attendance, including former Senators players and Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Liván Hernández threw eight shutout innings, and Vinny Castilla was denied the chance to hit for the cycle when Diamondback reliever Lance Cormier hit him with a pitch in the bottom of the eighth; Castilla needed only a single to complete the cycle. Chad Cordero recorded the save for Washington.
On August 4, 2005, Brad Wilkerson became the first Washington Nationals player to ever hit a grand slam, against the Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher, Duaner Sanchez. The Nationals won the game 7-0, on a four-hit complete game shutout by John Patterson.

Notable notes

On Father's Day, June 18, 2006, the paid attendence was 45,157, the second-largest ever to see a single baseball game in the history of RFK stadium. On that game, the Nationals beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on a two-out two-run walk-off home run by rookie Ryan Zimmerman. A 1962 doubleheader drew more spectators, as did the Nationals' first-ever game with Arizona. ^*

Season-by-Season Records

Montreal Expos (NL)
1969 52-110 .321 6th in NL East
1970 73-89 .451 6th in NL East
1971 71-90 .441 5th in NL East
1972 70-86 .449 5th in NL East
1973 79-83 .488 4th in NL East
1974 79-82 .491 4th in NL East
1975 75-87 .463 5th in NL East
1976 55-107 .340 6th in NL East
1977 64-98 .395 6th in NL East
1978 76-86 .469 4th in NL East
1979 95-65 .594 2nd in NL East
1980 90-72 .556 2nd in NL East
1981 60-48 .556 2nd in NL East Won Division Series vs Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2. Lost NLCS to Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-3.
1982 86-76 .531 3rd in NL East
1983 82-80 .506 3rd in NL East
1984 78-83 .484 5th in NL East
1985 84-77 .522 3rd in NL East
1986 78-83 .484 4th in NL East
1987 91-71 .562 3rd in NL East
1988 81-81 .500 3rd in NL East
1989 81-81 .500 4th in NL East
1990 85-77 .525 3rd in NL East
1991 71-90 .441 6th in NL East
1992 87-75 .537 2nd in NL East
1993 94-68 .580 2nd in NL East
1994 74-40 .649 1st in NL East No Postseason due to Player's Strike.
1995 66-78 .458 5th in NL East
1996 88-74 .543 2nd in NL East
1997 78-84 .481 4th in NL East
1998 65-97 .401 4th in NL East
1999 68-94 .420 4th in NL East
2000 67-95 .414 4th in NL East
2001 68-94 .420 5th in NL East
2002 83-79 .512 2nd in NL East
2003 83-79 .512 4th in NL East
2004 67-95 .414 5th in NL East
Washington Nationals
2005 81-81 .500 5th in NL East
Totals 2825-3035 .411 (Not including 2006)
Playoffs 5-5 .500 (1-1, .500 in Postseason Series')

Quick facts

Legal Name: Despite being publicly known as the Washington Nationals, until it was sold by MLB, the legal name of the team was still Baseball Expos LP

Founded: 1969 (Relocated from Montreal in 2005)

Stadium: RFK Stadium, Washington (capacity 45,000 when used for baseball) 2005-Present

Uniform Colors: The Nationals adopted the red, white and blue used by previous Washington baseball teams while adding gold trim. Red hats and white jerseys are worn for home games, while dark blue hats and grey jerseys are worn for road games. The new alternate uniforms include red and gold jerseys and hats.

Logo Design: A shield featuring "Washington" in a ribbon device over "Nationals" in a hard-block font, both superimposed over a baseball flanked by 9 stars, representing the 9 defensive players of a baseball team. The scripted "W" on the Nationals' hats is similar to that of the former Washington Senators (1961 expansion, now the Texas Rangers). There is also an alternate logo of an interlocking DC.

Mascot: A six-foot, two-inch (1.88 meters) tall eagle chick named "Screech", wearing a Washington Nationals cap and matching jersey.

Playoff appearances (1): 1981

Local Television: MASN, WDCA 20, WTTG 5

Spring Training Facility: Space Coast Stadium, Viera, FL

People of note

Players of note

For a list of notable Montreal Expos, see Montreal Expos: Players of note.

Broadcasters

For a list of notable Montreal Expos broadcasters, see Montreal Expos: Notable broadcasters.

Charlie Slowes - radio (2005-06)
David Shea - radio (2005)
Dave Jageler - radio (2006)
Mel Proctor - TV (2005)
Ron Darling - TV (2005)
Bob Carpenter - TV (2006)
Tom Paciorek - TV (2006)

Roster

Baseball Hall of Famers

20 Frank Robinson, Manager, since 2005, elected for his playing achievements

Retired numbers

With the exception of 42, retired for all MLB teams to honor Jackie Robinson, the Nationals have no retired numbers. The Montreal Expos retired the number 8 for Gary Carter, the number 10 for both Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson, and the number 30 for Tim Raines. The Nationals returned these numbers to circulation: In the 2006 season, number 8 is worn by second baseman Marlon Anderson, number 10 by shortstop Royce Clayton and number 30 by reliever Mike Stanton.

Washington Hall of Stars

RFK Stadium has a series of banners displaying a Washington Hall of Stars above its right-field fence. The banners replaced the Washington Wall of Fame that ran along the railing between the upper and lower decks at RFK. The Wall of Fame was removed to make way for LED boards when the Nationals came to RFK. The Hall of Stars is actually a thick, green banner hung on the back wall of the lower level of the stadium. Originally, the Hall was hung with the right edge justified against the RF foul pole; for the 2006 season, it was moved to the left and aligned with RFK's famous Budweiser sign to accommodate DC United (soccer) banners.

Figures from all of sport, including sportswriters, are eligible, but, as yet, no Nationals figures have been honored. The following Washington Senators are so honored:

Walter Johnson, P, 1907-27; MGR, 1929-32
Clark Griffith, P, 1912-14; MGR, 1912-20; Owner 1920-55
Joe Judge, 1B, 1915-22
37 Bucky Harris, 2B, 1919-28; MGR, 1924-28, 1935-42, 1950-54 (wore 37 as Manager)
5 Goose Goslin, LF, 1921-29, 1933, 1938
7 Ossie Bluege, 3B, 1922-39; MGR, 1943-47
4 Joe Cronin, SS, 1928-34; MGR, 1933-34
5 Cecil Travis, SS-3B, 1933-41, 1945-47
6 George Case, LF-RF, 1937-45, 1947
3 Mickey Vernon, 1B, 1939-48, 1951-55; MGR 1961-63
26 Early Wynn, P, 1939-48
1 Eddie Yost, 3B, 1944-58; MGR, 1963
2 Roy Sievers, LF, 1954-59, 1964-65
3 Harmon Killebrew, 3B, 1954-60
32 Chuck Hinton, LF-RF, 1961-64
George Selkirk, team vice president, 1962-69
14 Gil Hodges, MGR, 1963-67
33 Frank Howard, LF, 1965-71

Sievers (the second time around), Hinton and Howard played for the "New Senators" who became the Rangers; Vernon, Yost and Hodges managed the new Senators. All others either played for or managed the "Old Senators" who became the Twins. Neither the Twins nor the Rangers ever retired any numbers while they were the Washington Senators, nor have they so honored any former Senators since their moves, with the exception of Harmon Killebrew, whose number 3 was retired by the Twins on his election to the Hall of Fame.

The Nationals have also placed Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard on the Hall of Stars banner, honoring their contributions playing for the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues. Both are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, as are Johnson, Griffith, Goslin, Cronin, Wynn and Killebrew.

=Franchise records=