1-866-915-1308 Buy Washington Nationals Tickets, Get MLB Schedule information and more
The Washington Nationals are the latest reincarnation of the Montreal Expos. The Expos started playing in 1969, but a struggling ownership sold the team to Major League Baseball, who moved the team back to the states.
The Expos history started like many other expansions teams, with years of struggle. The Expos failed to produce a winning for the first ten years. The period of losing was followed by five straight years of winning records and contention. Unfortunately those years only found the club in the playoffs once, in 1981. The team won their NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies in five games, but lost to the L.A. Dodgers in the NLCS.
>> More
Upcoming Schedule
More from the NL East
The team of promise in the ‘80s had Gary Carter at catcher, Tim Raines and Andre Dawson, and pitchers Steve Rodgers and Bill Gullickson. The team with all its talent that went on to have great seasons elsewhere eventually, never finished higher thatn third after the 1982 season.
Again the Expos had incredible young talent in the ‘90s with outfielders Larry Walker, Moises Alou, and Marquis Grissom and pitchers Ken Hill, John Wetteland, and Pedro Martinez. The team was one of the best in baseball in 1994, but the players’ strike ended the season before the team had a chance to play in the playoffs.
The Expos unloaded all the talent from the team the following season and, consequently, the team only had one winning season until 2002. 2002 brought a team led by Vladimir Guerrero to two winning seasons in a row, but the Expos were unable to sign the superstar once free agency was a choice.
The Expos faced dismal seasons, poor attendance, and dire stadium needs. This prompted the Expos ownership to want to unload the team, but also found no willing buyers. To save the franchise, MLB took over the team until selling it to real-estate developer Theodore N. Lerner.
The team has been relocated to the nation’s capital and renamed the Nationals. Since taking over the team, Lerner has decided to start over, relying on building the Nationals through the far system rather than free agency.
The Washington Nationals hope its team of unknowns, injury returnees, and former head cases can come together to compete in the National League East. The pitching rotation will include John Patterson, who is returning from surgery; Shawn Hill, who is returning from surgery on his right forearm and left shoulder; Jason Bergman, who was also limited due to time on the disabled list; Matt Chico, the only starting pitcher who lasted an entire season; and Tim Redding. The strong bullpen includes workhorses Jon Rauch and Saul Riveria and closer Chad Cordero. The offense is highlighted by first baseman Nick Young, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, and switchhitting leftfielder Dmitri Young. The team hopes it can remain injury free at key positions throughout the entire 162-game schedule.
After the Montreal Expos came close to folding Major League Baseball took control of the franchise and scheduled a move to Washington. Though the city welcome the team, the negotiations to build a stadium created tension between the league and the city. The league stopped promoting the Nationals after a city council voted to require the league to finance half the cost of the stadium. Eventually a deal was struck and the Nationals officially began playing baseball in the Washington in 2005.
The current team may have issues with run production, ranking 29th in the majors last season, but the Expos have actually set a few records in the past. The Expos had 29 hits in a single game on July 30, 1978 against the Atlanta Braves. On May 7, 1997 the Expos scored 13 runs in the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants. The Nationals hope to draw as many fans on opening day in 1977, that game drew a record opening day turn out of 57,592.
The current team may have issues with run production, ranking 29th in the majors last season, but the Expos have actually set a few records in the past. The Expos had 29 hits in a single game on July 30, 1978 against the Atlanta Braves. On May 7, 1997 the Expos scored 13 runs in the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants. The Nationals hope to draw as many fans on opening day in 1977, that game drew a record opening day turn out of 57,592.