About Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the National League East Division. They play their home games at Nationals Park, located on South Capitol Street in the Navy Yard neighborhood of the Southeast quadrant of D.C. along the Anacostia River.
The Nationals are the eighth major league franchise to be based in Washington, D.C., and the first since 1971. The current franchise was founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos as part of a four-team expansion. After a failed contraction plan, MLB bought the Expos, seeking to move the team to a new city. MLB owners chose Washington, D.C. in 2004 and established the Nationals the next year, in the first MLB franchise move since 1971 when the third Washington Senators moved to Arlington, Texas to become the Texas Rangers. No MLB teams have moved since, although the Oakland Athletics are currently in the process of relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada.
While the team initially struggled after moving to Washington, the Nationals enjoyed considerable success throughout the 2010s. The team had back-to-back first overall picks in the MLB draft in 2009 and 2010, selecting Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. The team secured their first playoff berth and first division title in 2012 and won the National League East again in 2014, 2016, and 2017, but failed to advance past the NLDS each time. In 2019, the team advanced to the World Series as a Wild Card team and defeated the Houston Astros in seven games to earn their first championship.
As of the end of the 2023 season, the franchise's overall win–loss record is 4,194–4,478–4 . Since moving to Washington, D.C., their overall win–loss record is 1,439–1,535
Multiple short-lived baseball franchises, including two named the Nationals, played in Washington with the National Association in the 1870s. The first Washington Nationals team in a major league played in the American Association in 1884. Another Washington Nationals team also played in the Union Association during its only season in 1884. The first Washington Nationals of the National League played from 1886 to 1889.
The Washington Statesmen played in the American Association in 1891, before jumping to the National League as the Senators the following season. The Washington Senators, who were often referred to as the Nationals, played in the National League from 1892 to 1899. They were followed in 1901 by another Washington Senators franchise — a charter member of the new American League — who were officially named the Washington Nationals from 1905 to 1955. In 1912, another Washington Senators team formed as one of eight teams of the United States Baseball League. But the league and the team folded after just over a month of play in 1912.
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