The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington DC, United States. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to , the Nationals played in Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The team begins play at a new stadium, Nationals Park, on March 30, 2008.
The "Nationals" name originates from the two former Washington baseball teams who held the same name (used interchangeably with "Senators"). They are nicknamed "the Nats", a shortened version of the Nationals name that was also used by the old DC teams.
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Montreal, Quebec in . Then the Montreal Expos, the team was the first team in Canada, and played its home games at Jarry Park, then later, in Olympic Stadium. The team saw very little success, their most successful season coming in the strike-shortened season of . They had the best record in baseball when the season was cut short, and were regarded by many to be the unofficial National League and world's champions. This was widely considered to be the death blow for baseball in Montreal, although the team did stay in Quebec for 10 more seasons. After the 2001 season, Major League Baseball even considered shutting the team down (along with either the Minnesota Twins or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.) The team finally left before the season, moving to Washington to become the Nationals. This was the first complete relocation in Major League Baseball since , when the Washington Senators left DC to become the Texas Rangers. They are one of four teams to have never played in a World Series, never having officially won a league championship. They have only made it to one league championship series, their only playoff appearance, which was under the strange circumstances of the season.
The team is expected to move into a new ballpark, located in Southeast D.C. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol building, in the spring of 2008.
