Washington Nationals
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| Washington Nationals "The Nats" Established 1969 Based in Washington since 2005 |
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| Retired Numbers | 42 | ||
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[3] The Expos played twenty-two home games in San Juan during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, and the remainder in Montreal. |
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| Major league titles | |||
| World Series titles (0) | None | ||
| NL Pennants (0) | None | ||
| East Division titles (1) | 1981 (split season, won second half as Montreal Expos) | ||
| Wild card berths (0) | None | ||
| Owner(s): Ted Lerner | |||
| Manager: Manny Acta | |||
| General Manager: Jim Bowden | |||
The Washington Nationals (nicknamed The Nats) are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Washington, D.C. 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 the Dallas/Fort Worth area, becoming the Texas Rangers. The franchise became Washington's first in the National League since 1899, and was owned by Major League Baseball from 2002(in Montreal) until mid-2006. On May 3, 2006, a new ownership group was selected, headed by Theodore N. Lerner. The group formally took possession of the team on July 22, 2006. Former longtime Atlanta Braves sports executive Stan Kasten is President of the team.
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 DC United's home 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.
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[edit] 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 1994 Major League Baseball 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.
[edit] 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, D.C. in 2005. The move was approved by the owners of the other teams in a 28–1 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.
Although there was some sentiment to revive the name Senators, political considerations factored into the choice of Nationals, a revival of the first American League franchise's "official" nickname first adopted in 1905.[1] Politicians in the District of Columbia objected to the name Senators because Washington D.C. does not have voting representation in The Senate or the House of Representatives (despite that fact, the name was used, mostly unofficially, throughout the early to mid 20th century for the original A.L. team). Another reason is because the Texas Rangers (the second Washington Senators team) still owned the rights to the "Senators" name. Also considered was the name "Grays", after the old Negro League's Homestead Grays, a Pittsburgh-based franchise that, for a time, split some of it's home games with Washington, D.C. But the name was discarded, that team being primarily linked with Pittsburgh itself.[citation needed]
[edit] Opposition from the Orioles
The move was announced despite opposition from Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Since 1972, the Orioles had been the only MLB franchise in the Baltimore-Washington area, which is considered a single market. Angelos contended that the Orioles would suffer financially if another team were allowed to enter the market. Critics objected that the Orioles and the Washington Senators had shared the market successfully from 1954 through 1971.
On March 31, 2005, he and Major League Baseball struck a deal to protect the Orioles against any financial harm the Nationals might present.
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. MASN was not, however, immediately available on all cable providers, adding to the frustration of Nationals fans.
[edit] The ballpark controversy
The team's relocation to Washington was contingent on a financing plan for the Nationals' stadium — this plan quickly became the subject of much debate on the D.C. City Council.
Three Council members who supported Mayor Anthony Williams's plan were ousted in September 2004's Democratic party primary. In addition, an opinion poll conducted by the Washington Post during the peak of the controversy found that approximately two-thirds of District residents opposed the mayor's stadium plan.
Much of the controversy centered on the fact that the city would be helping finance a $581 million 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. [1]
During December 2004, the move to Washington itself was called into doubt 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 they were unwilling to do.
On December 22, 2005, the Post reported that Major League Baseball had specifically instructed prospective owners 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, 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 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, paving the way for the sale of the team.
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 were set and missed due to the legal wrangling regarding the building of the stadium. The delay was harshly criticized by city residents and leaders as reported in the Washington Post.
Selecting from a finalized group of three potential ownership syndicates, Major League Baseball announced in July 2006 that it had chosen the Lerner Enterprises group, led by billionaire real-estate developer Theodore N. Lerner. The final sale price of the team was $450 million and the transfer of ownership was completed July 24, 2006. In late September 2006, Comcast finally agreed to broadcast the Nationals games.
[edit] 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 major league team than Montréal in the 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 [2] 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 [3]. 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. Attendance numbers dipped considerably in the 2006 season to 2,153,150 total and 26,582 per game [4], which was well below the MLB-average of 31,381 fans per game [5]. The team also finished last in their division, which probably contributed to the poor attendance.
In the 2006 annual estimates made by Forbes Magazine, the Nationals were the 6th most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball at $440 million [6].
[edit] Notable firsts from the 2005 season
- On April 4, 2005, Brad Wilkerson (after being the last player to ever wear a Montreal Expo jersey) 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. (Lieber was credited with the win for the Phillies and would also score a win for Philadelphia in the last game of the 2005 Nationals season.) Outfielder Terrmel Sledge hit the Nats' first home run in the April 4 contest.
- On April 6, 2005, the Washington Nationals recorded their first-ever regular season win 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. There were 45,596 fans 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.
[edit] Notable moments from the 2006 season
- On Father's Day, June 18, 2006, the paid attendance was 45,157, the second-largest ever to see a single baseball game in the history of RFK stadium. In 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. [7]
- September 2, 2006, the Nationals rally from three runs down in the first game and from five runs down in the second game to take a day-night doubleheader sweep from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the first day-night doubleheader in Washington Nationals history.
- On Labor Day, September 4, 2006 Ramon Ortiz takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, yet gives up a single to Aaron Miles on his 2nd pitch in the 9th to break up his no-hitter. Ortiz himself also hit a home run in the 8th inning into the bullpen beyond the left-field fence at RFK. The Nationals won 5-2.
- September 16, 2006, Alfonso Soriano becomes the fourth player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season when he steals his 40th base in the first inning of a game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. Soriano follows that feat on September 22 by hitting his 40th double vs. the New York Mets, becoming the first member of the "40-40 Club" to also hit 40 doubles in the same season.
[edit] 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, now with the Lerner family as new owners it is now known as Washington Nationals Baseball Club, LLC.
- Founded: 1969 (Relocated from Montreal in 2005)
- Stadium: RFK Stadium, Washington (capacity 45,000 when used for baseball)[1] 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 (similar to the alternate logos of the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees. New York Mets, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
- Mascot: A six-foot, two-inch (1.88 meters) tall eagle chick named "Screech", wearing a Washington Nationals cap and matching jersey.
- Current ownership: Lerner family (Lerner Enterprises)
- Playoff appearances (1): 1981 (as the Montreal Expos)
- Local Television: MASN, WDCA 20, WTTG 5
- Local Radio: Washington Post Radio - WTWP 107.7 FM/1500 AM
- Spring Training Facility: Space Coast Stadium, Viera, FL
[edit] People of note
[edit] Baseball Hall of Famers
- 20 Frank Robinson, Manager, 2005-2006, elected for his playing achievements
[edit] Broadcasters
- For a list of notable Montreal Expos broadcasters, see Montreal Expos: Notable broadcasters.
- Charlie Slowes - radio (2005-present)
- Dave Shea - radio (2005)
- Dave Jageler - radio (2006-present)
- Mel Proctor - TV (2005)
- Ron Darling - TV (2005)
- Bob Carpenter - TV (2006-present)
- Tom Paciorek - TV (2006)
- Don Sutton - TV (2007-present)
[edit] Roster
25-man roster
Last updated on March 31, 2007
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Disabled List
Coaching staff
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[edit] 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 was worn by second baseman Marlon Anderson, number 10 was formerly worn by shortstop Royce Clayton and is currently worn by catcher Brandon Harper, and number 30 was worn by reliever Mike Stanton. The retired numbers for the Expos are now displayed at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, home of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens.
[edit] 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 a prior version consisting of lighted signs that ran around the railing between the upper and lower decks at RFK. The original version of the Hall of Stars was removed to make way for LED boards and to create additional advertising space 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 4-time MLS Cup Champions DC United's 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, 1915-32
- 10 Sam Rice , RF, 1915-1933
- 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 and Selkirk was an executive for the second franchise. 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.
Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard are also listed 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.
[edit] Season standings
(as Washington Nationals)
| Year | Record | Winning % | Position | Postseason |
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| 2005 | 81-81 | .500 | 5th in NL East | Did not make playoffs |
| 2006 | 71-91 | .438 | 5th in NL East | Did not make playoffs |
[edit] Championships
| National League Eastern Division Champions | ||
| Preceded by: Philadelphia Phillies |
1981 (as Montreal Expos) | Succeeded by: St. Louis Cardinals |
[edit] Franchise records
[edit] Single season records
[edit] Batting
- Batting Average: Vladimir Guerrero, .345 (2000)
- On-base percentage: Mike Jorgensen, .444 (1974)
- Slugging Percentage: Vladimir Guerrero, .664 (2000)
- OPS: Vladimir Guerrero, 1.074 (2000)
- At Bats: Warren Cromartie, 659 (1979)
- Runs: Tim Raines, 133 (1983)
- Hits: Vladimir Guerrero, 206 (2002)
- Total Bases: Vladimir Guerrero, 379 (2000)
- Doubles: Mark Grudzielanek, 54 (1997)
- Home Runs: Alfonso Soriano, 46 (2006)
- Runs Batted In: Vladimir Guerrero, 131 (1999)
- Walks: Ken Singleton, 123 (1973)
- Strikeouts: Andrés Galarraga, 169 (1990)
- Stolen Bases: Ron LeFlore, 97 (1980)
- Singles: Mark Grudzielanek, 157 (1996)
- Runs Created: Vladimir Guerrero, 154 (2000)
- Extra-Base Hits: Vladimir Guerrero, 84 (1999)
- Times on Base: Vladimir Guerrero, 296 (2002)
- Hit By Pitch: Ron Hunt, 50 (1971)
- Sacrifice Hits: Larry Lintz, 23 (1974)
- Sacrifice Flies: Andre Dawson, 18 (1983)
- Intentional Walks: Vladimir Guerrero, 32 (2002)
- At Bats per Strikeout: Gary Sutherland, 25.3 (1971)
- At Bats per Home Run: Bob Bailey, 12.6 (1970)
[edit] Pitching
- ERA: Pedro Martínez, 1.90 (1997)
- Wins: Ross Grimsley II, 20 (1978)
- Won-Loss %: Bryn Smith, .783 (1985)
- WHIP: Pedro Martinez, .932 (1997)
- Hits Allowed/9IP: Pedro Martinez, 5.89 (1997)
- Walks Allowed/9IP: Bryn Smith, 1.45 (1988)
- Strikeouts/9IP: Pedro Martinez, 11.37 (1997)
- Games: Mike Marshall, 92 (1973)
- Saves: Chad Cordero, 47 (2005)
- Innings: Steve Rogers, 301 ⅔ (1977)
- Strikeouts: Pedro Martínez, 305 (1997)
- Games Started: Steve Rogers, 40 (1977)
- Complete Games: Bill Stoneman, 20 (1971)
- Walks Allowed: Bill Stoneman, 146 (1971)
- Hits Allowed: Carl Morton, 281 (1970)
- Strikeout to Walk: Javier Vazquez, 4.73 (2001)
- Losses: Steve Rogers, 22 (1974)
- Earned Runs Allowed: Steve Rogers, 126 (1974)
- Wild Pitches: Steve Renko, 19 (1974)
- Hit Batsmen: Ramon Ortiz, 18 (2006)
- Batters Faced: Bill Stoneman, 1,243 (1971)
- Games Finished: Mike Marshall, 73 (1973)
[edit] Minor league affiliations
- AAA: Columbus Clippers, International League
- AA: Harrisburg Senators, Eastern League
- Advanced A: Potomac Nationals, Carolina League
- A: Hagerstown Suns, South Atlantic League
- Short A: Vermont Lake Monsters, New York-Penn League
- Rookie: GCL Nationals, Gulf Coast League
- Rookie: VSL Nationals, Venezuelan Summer League
[edit] Radio and television
As of 2006, the Nationals' flagship radio station was WTWP, "Washington Post Radio" at 107.7FM, which is co-owned by the Post and Bonneville International, an arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Charlie Slowes is the play-by-play announcer.
Nationals' telecasts are predominantly on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, with a handful of games on WDCA, "My20." Bob Carpenter is the TV play-by-play announcer. Hall-of-fame pitcher Don Sutton left TBS after 17 years to become the color analyst replacing Tom Paciorek.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Official site of the Washington Nationals
- Official Washington Nationals Fan Forum
- Washington Nationals Roster
- FOX Sports - Washington Nationals Team Front
- Expos New Name: Nationals (TSN)
- New Stadium Construction Camera
- 2007 spring training highlight video from The Washington Post
