Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals — page 1 — www abdopublishing com Published by Abdo Publishing a division of ABDO PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher SportsZone is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 052014 092014 Editor Matt Tustison Copy Editor Nicholas Cafarelli Interior Design and Production Craig Hinton Cover Design Craig Hinton Photo Credits Nick Wass AP Images cover title 44 Lawrence Jackson AP Images 4 43 middle Kevork Djansezian AP Images 7 Lawrence Jackson AP Images 8 Gene J Puskar AP Images 11 Photo by Focus on Sport Getty Images 12 AP Images 15 42 top RH AP Images 16 Photo by Ronald C Modra Sports Imagery Getty Images 18 21 AP Images 22 42 middle Paul Sakuma AP Images 25 42 bottom Craig Fujii AP Images 26 Photo by Mitchell Layton Getty Images 29 David Zalubowski AP Images 30 43 top Paul Chiasson AP Images 33 Haraz Ghanbari AP Images 34 Paul Connors AP Images 37 Jacquelyn Martin AP Images 38 47 Manuel Balce Ceneta AP Images 41 43 bottom Library of Congress Control Number 2014933087 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Goessling Ben 1983 Washington Nationals by Ben Goessling p cm Inside MLB Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-62403-489-3 1 Washington Nationals Baseball team History Juvenile Literature I Title GV863 W18G64 2015 796 357’6409753 dc23 2014933087

Washington Nationals — page 2 — TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Baseball Returns to Washington 4 Chapter 2 Baseball Arrives in Montreal 12 Chapter 3 A New Stadium and New Hope 18 Chapter 4 Heartbreak and Good-Byes 26 Chapter 5 A New City and New Hope 34 Timeline 42 Quick Stats 44 Quotes and Anecdotes 45 Glossary 46 For More Information 47 Index 48 About the Author 48

Washington Nationals — page 3 — CHAPTER 1 BASEBALL RETURNS TO WASHINGTON

Washington Nationals — page 4 — I n April 2005 big-league baseball was back in the nation’s capital for the first time in 34 years After the 1960 season and then again after the 1971 season major league teams left Washington DC They went to Minnesota and Texas respectively and became the Twins and the Rangers Washington did not have a baseball team from 1972 to 2004 In 2005 however the Montreal Expos moved to Washington and became the Washington Nationals Baseball had to Washington returned The Nationals were not expected to be very good in their first season in Wash ington The team had traded away many of its best players during its final years in Mon treal In fact Major League Baseball MLB had planned to remove the Expos in 2001 MLB owned the team when it moved to Washington and oper ated it on a small budget When Livan Hernandez helped the Nationals start quickly in 2005 the Livan Hernandez helped the Nationals start quickly in 2005 the franchise’s first year in Washington But the team struggled late in the franchise’s first year in Washington But the team struggled late in the season and did not make the playoffs season and did not make the playoffs BASEBALL RETURNS TO WASHINGTON 5

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