Originally, the team was formed as the Montreal Expos in Montreal, Quebec. It was the first team in Canada. Initially, the team saw very little success with one more or less successful season in 1994, which cancelled the end of the season, preventing the Expos from making it into the postseason. This was evidently the end of baseball in Montrealâ?¦ soon after that, in 2005, the team moved to Washington to become the Washington Nationals. This was the first complete relocation in Major League Baseball since 1972, when the Washington Senators left DC to become the Texas Rangers.
The owner of the Baltimore Orioles did not want the Nationals to come into Washington D.C. He felt that the Baltimore Orioles would suffer financially if another baseball club came into his area. Finally the MLB and the Orioles struck a deal that protected the Orioles from any financial harm. The Orioles had all radio and television broadcast rights for the Nationals. It has worked out for both clubs.
Since 2005, the team trains at RFK Stadium in Washington. Prior to 2008, the team will move into a new ballpark in Southeast D.C. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol. The Nats showed some very good baseball in 2005'2007 seasons, and we can predict some very promising years ahead of them. The Nationals finished the 2007 season 73-89, improving their record by two more wins than in 2006. In September, the Nationals won five out of six games with the New York Mets, displacing them from the first place.