Washington Nationals
Established: 1969
Other Names:
Montreal Expos (1969-2004)
2016 results: 96-67,
1st in the NL East
Lost NLDS (3-1) to the Los Angeles Dodgers
2017 Prediction: 1st
World Series Titles: 0
Most Recent: N/A
Last World Series
Appearance: N/A
Last Division Title: 2016
Ballpark: Nationals
Park
Est: 2008
Best Season: 1981
While the Nationals of recent
years have put up some impressive regular seasons, the 1981 Montreal Expos are
the only team in franchise history to advance as far as the National League
Championship Series. They were a young team with only one regular in the
starting lineup over the age of 30 (shortstop Chris Spier at 31). Andre Dawson,
Gary Carter, Tim Raines, Warren Cromartie and Tim Wallach led the offensive
charge while the starting pitchers included Steve Rogers, Bill Gullickson and
Scott Sanderson. The bullpen was anchored by Jeff Reardon. Current Cleveland
Indians’ manager, Terry Francona, was a bench player for the ’81 Expos, playing
in 34 games. The 1981 season was split into two halves due to the players’
strike, and after finishing third in the first half, they squeaked out the
second-half title with a record of 30-23, a half game ahead of the Cardinals.
They took on the first-half champ Philadelphia Phillies and won the series
three games to two. In the NLCS against the LA Dodgers, the Expos lost the
fifth and final game by a score of 2-1, ending Montreal’s dream of being the
first Canadian team to reach the World Series.
Best All-time Player:
Tim Raines
Raines played for the franchise
from 1979 until 1990 (when the team was known as the Montreal Expos). Raines
still tops the club’s all-time leaderboard in runs score (947), triples (82),
walks (793), singles (1163) and stolen bases (653). He played 13 years with the
Expos, playing in 1452 games, posted a .301 batting average, hit 96 home runs
and added 556 RBIs. The seven-time All-Star also won a Silver Slugger Award in
1986, finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1981, was the NL’s
Stolen Base King four consecutive years (1981-1984) and led the Expos to their
first postseason in 1981. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July.
Best Player on the
Current Roster: Bryce Harper
Despite a rather unimpressive
2016 (.243 average, 24 homers, 86 RBIs), Harper is still the best player on the
club. In 2015, he won the NL’s MVP Award with a .330 batting average, 42 home
runs and 99 RBIs. Most of the disappointment of last season can be attributed
to minor, nagging injuries that he played with throughout the year. In five
years and 657 games with Washington, Harper has compiled 651 hits, 412 runs, a
.279 average, 121 home runs, 334 RBIs and 58 stolen bases. The four-time
All-Star was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2012, and won a Silver Slugger Award
in 2015.
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