Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are the eighth major league baseball team to call the nation's capital home, and the first since the original Washington Senators left for Texas in 1971. The franchise began its life in 1969 as the Montreal Expos, one of four expansion teams that year. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, the first relocation in the majors in 34 years, and the team debuted as the Nationals in 2005. They play at Nationals Park, which opened in 2008 along the Anacostia River in Southeast D.C.

The early Washington years were a struggle, but the 2010s brought a turnaround. The team used back-to-back first overall draft picks in 2009 and 2010 to select Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. Those picks helped fuel a run of success: the Nationals made the playoffs in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017, winning the NL East each time except 2012. But each postseason ended in the NLDS. In 2019, the team entered the playoffs as a Wild Card and finally broke through, beating the Houston Astros in a seven-game World Series to claim their first championship. As of 2025, the franchise's all-time record stands at 4,331-4,665-4, with a 1,576-1,722 mark since moving to D.C. [edit]

The franchise was founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos, named after the 1967 World Expo. Playing at Jarry Park Stadium, the Expos were the first MLB team in Canada. The early teams were mostly mediocre, but they produced Hall of Famers like Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Tim Raines. The Expos moved to Olympic Stadium in 1977 and had their best stretch in the early 1980s, including a 1981 playoff run that ended in the NLCS. But after a 1994 strike wiped out a promising season when they had the best record in baseball, the franchise never fully recovered. By the early 2000s, attendance had plummeted, and MLB bought the team in 2002.

After exploring relocation options, MLB moved the Expos to Washington for the 2005 season. The Nationals played at RFK Stadium for three years while Nationals Park was built. They lost 100 games in 2008 and 2009, but the draft picks from those years, Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010), became cornerstones. The team won the NL East in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017, but lost in the Division Series each time. In 2019, the Nationals entered the playoffs as a Wild Card, beat the Brewers, Dodgers, and Cardinals, then defeated the Astros in a seven-game World Series, winning Game 7 on the road. That championship remains the franchise's only title. [edit]