Meet the Nationals B uilding a winning team in baseball is one of the greatest challenges in all of sports Doing this in a new city is even ty is even harder The Washington Nationals are showing the world how how it’s done It takes time and patience plus talent It also takes es a little luck The Nationals mix exciting new hitters and pitchers with faces that are familiar to their fans The older stars teach the younger ones The younger ones remind the experienced players that baseball can be fun Luck hasn’t always been on Washington’s side but the Nats always seek the best talent for their lineup This book tells the story of the Nationals They started d with another name in another city in another country Back ack then many of their fans also spoke another language But good d baseball sounds the same wherever it is played Young pitcher Drew Storen gives Ivan Rodriguez a high five Rodriguez is one of many experienced stars who have worn the Washington uniform 5
Glory Days W ashington D C is the capital of the United States That is why it seemed so strange that the city went without a baseball home team for almost 35 years After the 1971 season the Washington Senators left town and became the Texas Rangers Not until 2005 did baseball return to Washington The team that brought it back was the Montreal Expos The Expos played their first season in 1969 That year the National League NL added two teams one in San Diego California and the other in the Canadian city of Montreal Two years earlier Montreal had held a successful World’s Fair called Expo 67 The city would also host the Summer Olympics in 1976 Montreal was truly an international city and Major League Baseball MLB was excited about the idea of bringing the game to a wider audience 6
The Expos put good players on the field right away Their stars included Bill Stoneman Rusty Staub Ron Fairly Mack Jones and Steve Renko Just a few games into the 1969 season Stoneman pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies Over the next few years many more talented players wore the Montreal uniform including Mike Torrez Mike Marshall Ken Singleton and Ron Hunt By the late 1970s the Expos had assembled a very competitive team Catcher Gary Carter third baseman Larry Parrish and outfielders Warren Cromartie Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson formed the heart of a very dangerous batting order At the same time Montreal developed an excellent pitching staff which was led by Steve Rogers Scott Sanderson Bill Gullickson Charlie Lea and Jeff Reardon Over the years the Expos welcomed many other star players including Tim Raines Tim Wallach Andres Galarraga and Dennis Martinez Despite all of this talent the team had a hard time winning on a regular basis Montreal made the playoffs just once in 1981 LEFT This trading card shows the 1969 Expos ABOVE Rusty Staub led Montreal in home runs in each of the team’s first three seasons 7
