Washington Nationals Tickets

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals, based in Washington, D.C., are part of the MLB’s NL East Division. They played in Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium from 2005 to 2007, but will start to play at their new stadium, Nationals Park, on March 30, 2008. Their name comes from the 2 former Washington teams that had the same name. Their nickname is “the Nats,” which is just a shortened version of their name. They started out as the Montreal Expos, an expansion team in 1969 that was founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were the 1st team in Canada and played in Jarry Park and then moved to Olympic Stadium. After the 2001 season, the MLB thought of shutting them down along with the Minnesota Twins or Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They moved to Washington, D.C. before the 2005 season and became the Washington Nationals, though. This was the 1st complete relocation since 1972 when the Washington Senators left Washington, D.C. and became the Texas Rangers. The team motto is “Pledge your allegiance.”

The team will move into a new ballpark near the Anacostia River with views of the Capitol Building in the spring of 2008. One day after the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus, April 17, 2007, the team wore Virginia Tech hats as they played the Atlanta Braves. One of the hats was even brought to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to be put on display. The Nationals’ pitcher, Mike Bacsik, allowed Barry Bonds to hit his 756th career home run on August 7, 2007, which earned Bonds first place on the career home run list. The Nationals played their last game at RFK Memorial Stadium, which was a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on September 23, 2007.

The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team established in 1969 and since since 2005 based in Washington, D.C., United States. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League and from 2005 to 2007, they played in Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. On March 30, 2008, the team began playing at a new stadium, Nationals Park. Their uniform colors are red, white and blue used by previous Washington baseball teams while adding gold trim and the logo is a shield featuring "Washington" in a ribbon device over "Nationals", both superimposed over a baseball flanked by 9 stars, representing the 9 defensive players of a baseball team. The teams mascot is a six-foot, two-inch tall eagle chick named "Screech", wearing a Washington Nationals cap and matching jersey and the team is often called the Nats. Current owner is the Lerner family, the menager is Manny Acta and the teams spring training facility is Space Coast Stadium, Viera, Florida. The Washington Nationals won their first regular season home game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 2005, by a score of 5-3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and president George W. Bush kept up a tradition of sitting U.S. Presidents by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day in Washington. The team played their final game at RFK, a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on September 23, 2007.