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The Washington Nationals Tickets : The Franchise Never Got A Chance To Play In A World Series
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington
, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball (MLB). The team moved into the newly-built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium. The new park is located in Southeast D.C. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol.The Nationals name derives from the two former Washington baseball teams which had the same name (used interchangeably with Senators). Their nickname is "the Nats" a shortened version that was also used by the old D.C. teams.
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1969. As the Montreal Expos, they were the first major league team in Canada. They played their home games at Jarry Park Stadium and later in the Olympic Stadium. The Expos had its highest winning percentage in the strike-shortened season of 1994, when it had the best record in baseball. The team's subsequent shedding of players caused fan interest to drop off.
After the 2001 season, MLB considered revoking the team's franchise, along with either the Minnesota Twins or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After being purchased by MLB in 2002, the team was moved before the 2005 season to Washington and renamed the Nationals. This was the first complete name change for a relocating team in MLB since 1972, when the Washington Senators left D.C. to become the Texas Rangers.
The franchise is one of three teams (along with the Rangers and Seattle Mariners) never to have played in a World Series. As the Montreal Expos, the team won a division championship, and advanced to the National League Championship Series in their only playoff appearance during the strike-shortened 1981 season.
In March 2009, just prior to Spring Training, members of the Nationals' front office were implicated in a skimming scandal. Jose Rijo, a key adviser to Jim Bowden, was thought to be at the heart of this. As a result of this scandal, and also due to the Nationals' disappointing season in 2008, General Manager Jim Bowden was fired in Spring Training of 2009.
Mike Rizzo, the man serving as assistant G.M. for the previous two seasons, became the de facto G.M., and officially claimed the title on an interim basis weeks later. Rizzo began to shape the team in a way that was contrary to Bowden's previous methods. While Bowden was known for "dumpster-diving," that is attempting to find serviceable players among the less-than-desired, Mike Rizzo sought players who achieved results. Bowden took risks on players with poor reputations (such as outfielders Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge), while Rizzo made a point out of making certain his players possessed "character" and would contribute to a cohesive clubhouse.
Despite the failures of Bowden's tenure, his last trade appeared to have been extremely beneficial to the Nationals, as he traded infielder Emilio Bonifacio and two minor-leaguers to the Marlins for starting pitcher Scott Olsen and outfielder Josh Willingham.
Rizzo's first major trade during the 2009 season as General Manager of the Nationals was to trade Lastings Milledge along with control-challenged reliever Joel Hanrahan to the Pirates in exchange for speedy outfielder Nyjer Morgan and left-handed relief pitcher Sean Burnett. Morgan was thought to be a great clubhouse presence as well as a slick fielder on the outfield grass.
Mike Rizzo's new philosophy continued to show in the 2009-2010 offseason. He was able to acquire second baseman Adam Kennedy, starting pitcher Jason Marquis (who began the 2010 season very poorly, although it was later revealed that he had bone chips in his throwing elbow, his ERA was over 13 at one point), and future Hall of Fame member and catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.
All three men had reputations as being great teammates. Collectively, they had extensive experience playing for successful teams. This was a contrast to the Nationals' roster at the time, which had some talented players who lacked experience playing for winning teams.
The Nationals' flagship radio station is WFED, "Federal News Radio" at 1500 & 820 AM, which is owned by Bonneville International. Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler are the play-by-play announcers.
Nationals' telecasts are predominantly on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), with a handful of games simulcast on WDCW, "DC50." Bob Carpenter is the TV play-by-play announcer. Rob Dibble was the color analyst until September 1, 2010. The new permanent color analyst has yet to be determined.
The team has struggled to attract fans, with attendance averaging in the middle of the league in the team's second year in Washington. Local TV ratings have declined to the lowest in the league by a significant margin.
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