The Washington Nationals in Baseball

In 1981, the Montreal Expos qualified for the Division Championship and went on to the National League Championship Series. They came close to winning the 1994 National League Title and becoming known as world champions, but the baseball strike spoiled their chance. Major League Baseball was considering dismantling the team because of their poor performance since 1994. They have never played in a World Series. The Lerner family of Washington, D.C., purchased the team in 2005, and the team became known as the Washington Nationals, or the "Nats". They were the first Major League Baseball(MLB) club to have a complete name change since 1972. Their current name is a combination of other former Washington, D.C, baseball teams such as the Washington Senators.

The baseball team goes back as far as 1969 when they belonged to Montreal, Quebec. They were known legally as the Baseball Expos and by their fans as the Montreal Quebec Expos. They left Quebec in 2005. For two years while their home stadium, the National Park Stadium, was under construction, they played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. As the Washington Nationals, they are now part of the MLB's Eastern Division. The club has since experienced team member changes. Paul LoDuca and Felipe Lopez, veteran players, were retired, and the team recruited Emilio Bonifacio and Alberto Gonzalez. The team moved to the National Park in 2008. The new stadium is in southeast D.C. near the Anacosta River. Fans in the stadium have a perfect view of the Nation's Capital.