50 Fun Facts About Washington Nationals

Before moving to Washington in 2005, the franchise played in which city?

They were the first Major League team in Canada, and the franchise still tracks its records back to 1969.

The Expos were named after what?

Seagram shareholder Charles Bronfman was the majority owner of the 1969 expansion club.

The Expos had the best record in baseball in which season, only to see it wiped out by a players' strike?

Larry Walker, Moisés Alou, Marquis Grissom and Pedro Martínez were sold off soon after, and attendance collapsed.

In November 2001 MLB owners voted 28-2 to eliminate the Expos and which other team?

A Metrodome lease injunction saved the Twins, and the 2002 labour deal banned contraction until 2006.

Which owner sold the Expos to MLB in 2002 in a deal that let him buy the Florida Marlins?

The three-way shuffle cleared the way for John Henry to buy the Red Sox.

The Nationals are the eighth major league franchise in Washington and the first since which year?

That year the second Senators left for Arlington, Texas, to become the Rangers.

Which owner cast the lone vote against moving the Expos to Washington in December 2004?

He extracted control of the Nationals' TV rights through the MASN network as compensation for sharing his market.

Why did District politicians object to reviving the name 'Senators' for the new team?

The Rangers held the trademark too, but sold it to MLB for $1; Mayor Anthony Williams had preferred 'Grays'.

Mayor Anthony Williams wanted the new team named in honour of which Negro league club?

The club played most of its 1940s home games at Washington's Griffith Stadium despite being based in Pittsburgh.

The Nationals played their first three seasons in Washington at which venue?

The old multipurpose bowl had hosted the expansion Senators until 1971.

The Nationals' first draft pick, in 2005, was which University of Virginia third baseman?

He spent his entire career with the club and became the first National to have his number retired, in 2022.

Which U.S. president threw out the first pitch at the first game at Nationals Park in March 2008?

The face of the franchise won it with a walk-off homer, his fifth of his career, on national television.

Nationals Park was the first major U.S. sports stadium to earn what distinction?

It sits along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighbourhood and cost about $693M to build.

The Nationals used the first overall draft pick in 2009 and 2010 on which two players?

Back-to-back last-place finishes bought them the two most hyped prospects of their era.

How many batters did the Nationals' 2009 No. 1 pick strike out in his 2010 MLB debut?

It was a franchise record, and he needed Tommy John surgery before the season was out.

Bryce Harper was drafted as a catcher after leaving high school early to enrol where?

He won the Golden Spikes Award there at 17 after Sports Illustrated had already called him baseball's 'Chosen One'.

Bryce Harper became the youngest unanimous NL MVP in which season?

He was 23; the team still missed the playoffs and manager Matt Williams was fired.

After the 2018 season Bryce Harper left the Nationals to sign with which division rival?

His 13-year, $330M deal was briefly the richest in North American sports; the Nats won the World Series without him.

The Nationals won their first division title in which season?

They lost the NLDS to St. Louis after the Cardinals took the lead with two outs in the ninth of Game 5.

Max Scherzer's 2015 free-agent contract with Washington was worth how much over seven years?

He won two Cy Youngs as a National and started Game 7 of the 2019 World Series before being traded to the Dodgers in 2021.

The Nationals began 2019 with what record before their turnaround?

Their World Series odds sat at 1.5 percent; they went 74-38 the rest of the way.

The Nationals beat which team 4-3 in the 2019 NL Wild Card Game?

Juan Soto's bases-loaded single skipped past the right fielder in the eighth inning to win it.

The Nationals defeated which team in the 2019 World Series?

It was the first World Series in which the road team won every game.

What was unprecedented about the 2019 World Series?

The visitors outscored the hosts 49-14 across the seven games.

Who was named MVP of the 2019 World Series?

He won two games in the Series and re-signed for $245M, but injuries limited him to 31 innings under the deal.

Whose two-run homer off the foul pole gave the Nationals the lead for good in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series?

He had also hit a grand slam in the tenth inning of Game 5 of the NLDS in Los Angeles.

The 2019 Nationals went 5-0 in postseason elimination games, and all five wins had what in common?

No team had ever done that; the run included the wild card game, NLDS Game 5 and World Series Games 6 and 7.

The Nationals wore which lucky alternate uniform to an 11-3 record on the way to the 2019 title?

A white version of the script look followed in 2020 and became the primary home uniform in 2022.

The Nationals traded Juan Soto to San Diego in 2022 after he rejected an extension offer worth how much?

He eventually signed with the Mets for $765M over 15 years, the largest contract in sports history.

Which two players from the Soto trade became Nationals cornerstones, one an All-Star in 2024?

Abrams was the 2024 All-Star; Wood debuted the same season alongside No. 2 overall pick Dylan Crews.

Which manager led the Nationals to the 2019 title and was fired in July 2025?

General manager Mike Rizzo, in charge since 2009, was dismissed the same day.

Blake Butera, hired to run the Nationals' dugout in October 2025, was notable for being what?

He was 33 and built one of the youngest coaching staffs in recent memory, drawing from Driveline and college programs.

Which family bought the Nationals from MLB in 2006, with Ted as principal owner?

Ted Lerner hired Braves architect Stan Kasten as president and launched 'The Plan' to rebuild through the draft.

Which giant-headed Mount Rushmore president famously could not win the Presidents Race at Nationals Park?

He lost for almost seven seasons despite head starts, finally winning on October 3, 2012.

Which president was added to the Presidents Race in 2013 and retired after 2016?

'Bill' wore No. 27 for his place in the presidential order; Coolidge and Hoover each raced for a single season.

The Racing Presidents wear jersey numbers corresponding to what?

So George is 1, Tom is 3, Abe is 16 and Teddy is 26.

The Nationals' 2022 City Connect uniform paid homage to what feature of spring in Washington?

The gray-and-pink set was retired after 2024 and replaced by a light-blue design showing the city's street grid.

The Nationals lost in the NLDS in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017; which team beat them in Game 5 in 2017?

Dusty Baker's contract was not renewed afterwards and the club hired its sixth manager in ten years.

The Nationals' first big free-agent signing, in 2011, was which outfielder?

He was later the first person inducted into the Ring of Honor purely for his career as a National.

The Nationals lost their first game, on April 4, 2005, to which team?

They finished that first season exactly .500 at 81-81.

Which Expos mascot became the first in Major League history to be ejected from a game, in 1989?

He was dancing on the Dodgers' dugout in the 11th inning; the Canadiens later adopted him.

Which red-haired star, nicknamed 'Le Grand Orange', was the Expos' first star player?

He arrived from Houston before the inaugural season and led the club with 30 homers in 1970.

The Expos played their first years at Jarry Park before moving in 1977 to which venue?

'The Big O' was built for the 1976 Summer Games and never got a working retractable roof for years.

Which network was the Nationals tied to from 2005 until 2025 under a deal demanded by the Orioles' owner?

The Nationals held only a minority share and could not sell their rights on the open market, sparking years of litigation.

Which TV analyst was fired in September 2010 after criticising the team's injured rookie ace?

The pitcher turned out to need Tommy John surgery; Ray Knight filled in for the rest of the season.

Nationals Park has a seating capacity of roughly how many?

It hosted the 2018 All-Star Game, the summer Juan Soto debuted at 19.

The Nationals share their West Palm Beach spring training complex with which team?

They moved there in 2017 from Viera's Space Coast Stadium, a facility inherited from the Expos.

Whose No. 11 became the first number retired by the Nationals, in June 2022?

The Expos had retired three numbers for four players in Montreal; the Canadiens later hung a banner for them at the Bell Centre.

Which Hall of Fame catcher was the first Nationals player admitted to the team's Ring of Honor?

Critics noted his inclusion rested on a Hall of Fame career built elsewhere, not his 155-game, two-season stint in Washington.

Where did the Nationals hold spring training from 2005 through 2016, at a facility inherited from the Expos?

Space Coast Stadium gave way in 2017 to the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach.