Major League Baseball owners on Friday officially announced approval for the Montreal Expos to move to D.C., and the team was renamed the Washington Nationals. While some are excited about the District's new baseball team, others are not. Regardless, many baseball fans are using this time to reflect on the history and future of the nation's pastime in the nation's capital.
The Team
The former Montreal Expos are coming off a 67-95 season, during which they played half of their "home" games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, amid constant discussions of moving out of Montreal. The team had the fifth-lowest payroll in baseball and had the lowest average home attendence.
Despite the tenuous situation in Montreal last year, some notable players decided to stay put. Jose Vidro, a three-time All-Star and .304 career hitter, signed a four-year deal to stay with the team. Livan Hernandez, the winningest pitcher from last year's team, is also on board with a three-year deal.
Major holes in the team were plugged by the Nationals interim general manager, Jim Bowden, who signed Vinny Castilla to play third base and Cristian Guzman to play shortstop, and traded for outfielder Jose Guillen from the Anahiem Angels.
Students had mixed feelings about the new team.
Antonios Nicolaidis, a graduate student in the School of International Service, is against the Expos move.
"I'm a born and raised Baltimorean, and with a new team most of the people from D.C. and Virginia will go to Nationals games instead of Orioles games," he said. He also said he might attend Nationals games.
Liz Zender, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she anticipates the team's arrival.
"It'll be cool to root for a team that's so close and more accessible than the Orioles," Zender said.
The Stadium
The Nationals will play in RFK Stadium until a new 41,000-seat stadium is built on the Anacostia River in 2008 at the earliest. The plan to build the stadium is somewhat controversial due to the absence of a building price cap and rising estimated cost (last estimated at $630 million).
Frank Ceresi, an author on baseball and former National Sports Gallery curator, said he believes that the stadium will surprise people.
"It's a great baseball stadium and a nice outdoor area," he said. "It will have seating for 53,000, so there will be some nice crowds there."
The final vote by the city council on Dec. 14 will likely make clear the path for the new stadium-financing package, and thus the Expos.
Currently, RFK Stadium, originally called D.C. Stadium and renamed after Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968, is accessible on Metro's Orange and Blue lines.
The History
Baseball has a long history in the District, predating the Civil War. The Washington Nationals became one of the first amateur baseball clubs, and in 1867 became one of the first teams to travel to different cities, according to Ceresi.
Ceresi said there have been two other important teams in Washington besides the Nationals.
"The Senators were one of eight original [American League] teams," Ceresi said. The Senators were also one of the worst teams in the league, with just one World Series win, in 1924, leading to the saying that Washington was first in war, first in peace, last in the American League.
The team also started an interesting tradition. "In 1911 President Taft threw out the first pitch of the season, and every president did it until the Senators left in 1971," Ceresi said.
The other team was the Homestead Grays of the Negro League. From 1938 through 1949, Washington was home to the Grays, which featured some of the greatest Negro League players, such as Josh Gibson, James "Cool Papa" Bell and Buck Leonard.
The Future
On April 4, 2005, the Washington Nationals will play their first game, against the Philadelphia Phillies. Their first home game will be against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 14, thus returning baseball to Washington for the first time in 33 years.
Though some anxiously await the chance to cheer on the Nats, the questions remain: Who will own the team? Will they be any good?
Ceresi has opinions on both. He said he hopes Major League Baseball will award the team to the Frank Malek group, one with ties to the area. As for the team itself, Ceresi said the Nationals will do "pretty well, but not great. They're a team in transition, but they'll at least be competitive"
