Washington Nationals

The Marlins' NL East rival from the capital, born as the Montreal Expos.

Washington's Major League Baseball club plays in the National League East, the same division as Miami, and calls Nationals Park, beside the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard area, home. The franchise started life in 1969 as the Montreal Expos, one of four expansion teams that year.

Quick Facts

League: NL East
Founded: 1969 (as the Montreal Expos)
In washington since: 2005
World series titles: 2019

Lore & Background

After a contraction plan fell through, MLB took ownership of the Expos and picked Washington as their new home in 2004; the relocated club took the field as the Nationals in 2005, the first franchise shift since the Senators left for Texas in 1971. The early Washington years were lean, but the 2010s turned around, helped by first overall draft picks Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010). Several division titles ended in Division Series exits until 2019, when the Nationals got in as a wild card and beat Houston in a seven-game World Series for their first title. The Marlins link runs deeper too: the Expos reached MLB's hands in a swap in which John Henry sold the Marlins to Expos owner Loria, who then sold the Expos to the league.