Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team that plays in the National League (NL) East division of Major League Baseball (MLB). Washington plays its home games in Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
The Nationals (or Nats, as they are often called) originated in 1969 as the Montreal Expos , the first MLB team in Canada . The franchise moved from Montreal to Washington following the 2004 season. In 2006, Nats outfielder Alfonso Soriano became the first player in MLB history with 40 home runs, 40 stolen bases, and 40 doubles in a single season. In 2012, the Nationals won the NL East and outfielder Bryce Harper was named the NL Rookie of the Year. The Nats won the NL East again in 2014, 2016, and 2017, but never advanced in the playoffs. Stars of those teams included Harper, infielders Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman, and pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. In 2019, the team won an NL Wild Card playoff spot and advanced to the World Series . The Nats then defeated the Houston Astros for the team’s first MLB title.
An MLB team called the Washington Senators was an original member of the American League (AL). The team played in Washington, D.C., from 1901 until 1960. In 1961, the team moved to Minneapolis and became the Minnesota Twins . A new Washington Senators team began play in 1961 as an AL expansion team. That team moved to Arlington , Texas , in the Dallas – Fort Worth area in 1972 and became the Texas Rangers .
