the montreal expos became the washington nationals in 2005.
the montreal expos became the washington nationals in 2005.
when did the montreal expos become the washington nationals?
2005
on august 10, 2010, the washington nationals formally presented a new "ring of honor" at nationals park in washington, d.c., to honor major league baseball hall of fame players with ties to the washington nationals, original washington senators, expansion washington senators, homestead grays, or montreal expos. gary carter and andre dawson were the former expos honored in the ring of honor on that day. the expos logo appears next to their names in the ring of honor. on may 9, 2015, the nationals added former expos (2002–2004) and nationals (2005–2006) manager frank robinson to the ring of honor at nationals park.
2004 montreal expos season
the nationals′ attempt to honor the montreal-washington franchise′s entire history in the ring of honor, as well as by tracking montreal-washington franchise records, is not without controversy; it has been criticized as "an embodiment of the team’s desire to find history before it can make much." although nationals fans generally take little interest in the franchise′s montreal years, some do appreciate acknowledging that the franchise has a history that predates its arrival in washington, and former expo tim raines received a warm round of applause from fans at nationals park at his induction ceremony on august 28, 2017, even though he had never even visited washington, d.c., before, let alone played baseball there. some montreal expos fans express appreciation that the nationals are honoring the expos, and expos players inducted into the ring of honor have expressed gratitude that the nationals chose to include them, especially with no mlb team in montreal to honor their careers. however, few nationals fans have taken an interest in franchise records, preferring to compare nationals records with those of previous washington mlb teams instead, and a segment of nationals fans actively opposes the inclusion of expos history into that of the nationals, taking the view that the montreal years are irrelevant to washington and that the team made a complete break with its past and started anew when it arrived in washington, inheriting the history of the two washington senators teams rather than that of the expos. similarly, montreal expos fans have taken little or no interest in the achievements of nationals players, and some expos fans strongly oppose the inclusion of former expos in the ring, taking the position that to do so is to co-opt the history of the expos, which they say belongs solely in montreal.
washington nationals