[caption id="attachment_1101" align="alignleft" width="314" caption="Nationals Park, Home to the Washington Nationals"]
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In 2004, the world of professional sports decided that it was time to return a baseball team to our nations capital. Thus, the Washington Nationals were born and once more, fans in the Washington D.C. metro area had a home team in professional baseball. But where exactly did this team come from? Did owners and stakeholders just pluck random Joe schmo's off of the street and place them in a uniform?
Lets take it back 43 years and about 592 miles north to the Canadian city of Montreal. The year was 1969, and the Canadian people were going to get their first taste of American baseball. Being the first MLB franchise held outside of the Unites States, the Montreal Expos, named after the Expo '67 World Fair, quickly captured the attention and interest of Canadian and American baseball fans alike. On April 8th, 1969, the Expos played their first career game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium and won by a close score of 11-10. Along with this win came the hope of future success, which would eventually turn out to be harder to accomplish than expected.
From 1969, when the franchise started, until 1978, the Expos posted ten straight losing seasons under four different coaches. It was not until 1979, under the direction of coach Dick Williams that the Expos were able to pull out a winning season with a record of 95-65. This change in luck helped the Expos to 4 more consecutive winning seasons, yet still no trips to the post-season.
[caption id="attachment_1088" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Montreal Expos celebrating after their 1981 win over the Philadelphia Phillies"]
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With what almost seemed like entire decade of baseball wasted, the Expos reached the post-season for their first and only time in 1981 where they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the divisional series, but eventually lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
After years of disappointment and failed attempts, the Expos fell under the radar until 1994, when they posted a 74-40 record with only 1/4th of the season remaining. With a solid lineup that included key players such as Wil Cordero, Marquis Grissom, Pedro Martinez and Larry Walker among others, the Expos once more made a run at the post-season. With success within reach, it was sadly stripped from their hands by the cruel fate of the 1994 player's strike, which caused the cancellation of the playoffs, World Series and the rest of the season. On pace to finish the season with over 100 wins and with the second place Atlanta Braves six games behind, Montreal and their fans felt robbed of what was surely going to be their best season to date.
From 1995 until 2002, the Montreal Expos finished almost every season, with the exception of the 1996 season, posting a losing record. After countless losing seasons, and many key players either traded or released to free agency, the Montreal Expos were scheduled to be relocated to Washington D.C. for the 2005 baseball season. Ironically, the Expos' last game of their last season was played against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium where they were routed by a score of 8-1. The team that they had defeated in their first ever game 35 years earlier, was the one who placed the final dagger in the heart of a dying franchise.
[caption id="attachment_1089" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Side by side picture of pitcher Livan Hernandez as an Expo and a National"]
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Once in Washington, the Expos' name was changed to the Nationals. The newly relocated team brought professional baseball back to Washington after 33 years of being team-less since the Senators moved to Texas in 1972 and became the Rangers. During the next six seasons in Washington, the Nationals continued to finish what the Expos started. Finishing at .500 with an 81-81 record in their first season, the Nationals soon slipped into the curse that the Expos had left them with. In the next 6 years, the Nationals would not have a record above .500.
But with great defeat comes great redemption.
The Nationals have recently acquired some key players including former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, first-baseman Adam LaRoche and of course, two of the biggest names in Major League Baseball right now, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. With spirits high and plenty of key players, the Washington Nationals look to the 2012-2013 season to break the curse that the Montreal Expos has placed on them and make it to the post-season, something that the franchise has not accomplished since 1981.
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