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129-562: Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Washington Nationals 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated August 16, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  Dominican Summer League → Washington Nationals minor league players This article about sports in

258-743: A sign stealing scandal . They made later World Series appearances in 2019 against the Washington Nationals , 2021 against the Atlanta Braves , and 2022 against the Philadelphia Phillies , winning their second title in the latter series. Often cited as the best team in the American League, the team's sustained success since 2015 has led some to declare the Astros a dynasty. They are the only team to win

387-491: A 66–96 record. The team was still building, trying to find that perfect mix to compete. The 1964 campaign began on a sad note, as relief pitcher Jim Umbricht died of cancer at the age of 33 on April 8, just before Opening Day . Umbricht was the only Colt .45s pitcher to post a winning record in Houston's first two seasons. He was so well liked by players and fans that the team retired his jersey number, 32, in 1965. Just on

516-483: A boost from pitcher Ken Forsch , who threw a no-hitter against the Braves the second game of the season. In May 1979, New Jersey shipping tycoon John McMullen had agreed to buy the Astros. Now with an investor in charge, the Astros would be more likely to compete in the free-agent market. The Astros were playing great baseball throughout the season. José Cruz and Enos Cabell both stole 30 bases. Joe Niekro had

645-483: A color commentator until he retired from broadcasting in 1976. Elston continued with the Astros until 1986. The Colt .45s began their existence playing at Colt Stadium , a temporary venue built just north of the construction site of their permanent home, a domed stadium. Hofheinz and his partners believed a domed stadium was a must for MLB to be viable in Houston, given the area's oppressive humidity. The Colt .45s started their inaugural season on April 10, 1962, against

774-399: A great year with 21 wins and 3.00 ERA. J. R. Richard won 18 games and set a new personal strikeout record at 313. Joe Sambito came into his own with 22 saves as the Astros closer. Things were going as they should for a team that could win the west. The Astros and Reds battled the final month of the season. The Reds pulled ahead of the Astros by a game and a half. Later that month they split

903-716: A major league played in the American Association in 1884. Another Washington Nationals team also played in the Union Association during its only season in 1884. The first Washington Nationals of the National League played from 1886 to 1889. The Washington Statesmen played in the American Association in 1891, before jumping to the National League as the Senators the following season. The Washington Senators , who were often referred to as

1032-827: A member club of the American League (AL) West Division , having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL). They are one of two major league clubs based in Texas; the Texas Rangers belong to the same division. Established as the Houston Colt .45s , the Astros entered the National League as an expansion team in 1962 along with the New York Mets . The current name, reflecting Houston's role as

1161-509: A month of play in 1912. The first American League Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins . MLB awarded Washington an expansion team, the second American League Senators franchise , which began play in 1961 but moved to Arlington , Texas after the 1971 season to become the Texas Rangers . The Montreal Expos were part of the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion , which included

1290-491: A new pitch, the split-finger fastball. Scott, who was coming off of a 5–11 season, had found his new pitch and would become one of Houston's most celebrated hurlers. In June, Davis made the starting lineup at first base, adding power to the team. In September, Joe Niekro was traded to the Yankees for two minor league pitchers and lefty Jim Deshaies . The Astros finished in fourth place in 1985. After finishing fourth in 1985,

1419-408: A new uniform set starting in 2011. Gold was eliminated and the emphasis was on the "curly W" logo, which was prominently featured on the home and red alternate uniforms. The road all-navy cap was retired in a favor of a navy cap with red brim, and a new red cap with navy brim was added in 2013 for home games with the red alternates. The sleeve patch was updated to feature the primary roundel logo. Piping

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1548-536: A no-hitter on June 18. Wynn also provided some enthusiasm in 1967. The 5 ft 9 in Wynn was becoming known not only for how often he hit home runs, but also for how far he hit them. Wynn set club records with 37 home runs, and 107 RBIs. It was also in 1967 that Wynn hit his famous home run onto Interstate 75 in Cincinnati . As the season came to a close, the Astros found themselves again in ninth place and with

1677-525: A pair and the Reds kept the lead. The Astros finished with their best record to that point at 89–73 and 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 games behind the NL winner Reds. With Dr. McMullen as sole owner of the Astros, the team would now benefit in ways a corporation could not give them. The rumors of the Astros moving out of Houston started to crumble and the Astros were now able to compete in the free-agent market. McMullen showed

1806-530: A postseason series in seven straight seasons. Their fifth pennant in 2022 made them the second team created in the expansion era to win five league pennants (after the Mets) and the fifth expansion team to have won two World Series championships. In 2024, the Astros clinched their AL West division title for the seventh time in eight years and became the first team to win the AL West division in four straight years since

1935-612: A prominent oilman and real estate magnate in Houston who like Cullinan was brought in for his financial resources, and Judge Roy Hofheinz , a former Mayor of Houston and Harris County Judge who was recruited for his salesmanship and political style. They founded the Houston Sports Association (HSA) as their vehicle for attaining a big league franchise for the city of Houston. Given MLB's refusal to consider expansion, Kirksey, Cullinan, Smith, and Hofheinz joined forces with would-be owners from other cities and announced

2064-628: A run in the first inning, then held the Astros at bay until the sixth inning. An Astros lead was lost when Bob Boone hit a two-out single in the second, but the Astros tied the game in the sixth with an Alan Ashby single scoring Denny Walling . Houston took a 5–2 lead in the seventh; however, the Phillies came back with five runs in the inning. The Astros came back against Tug McGraw with four singles and two two-out runs. Now in extra innings, Garry Maddox doubled in Del Unser with one out to give

2193-832: A spot in the 2019 National League Wild Card Game , which they won over the Milwaukee Brewers 4–3. In the NLDS , the Nationals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games, propelling them past the divisional round for the first time in franchise history. The Nationals then swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS , giving them their first NL pennant. The team then defeated the Houston Astros in game seven of

2322-559: A starter on the All-Star Team . The success did not last as they lost Jimmy Wynn for the season after he crashed into an outfield fence in Philadelphia and Morgan had broken his knee cap. The 1967 season saw first baseman Eddie Mathews join the Astros. The slugger hit his 500th home run while in Houston. He would be traded late in the season and Doug Rader would be promoted to the big leagues. Rookie Don Wilson pitched

2451-490: A winning percentage below .500. The team looked good on paper, but could not make it work on the field. April 15, 1968, saw a pitching duel for the ages. The Astros' Don Wilson and the Mets' Tom Seaver faced each other in a battle that lasted six hours. Seaver went ten innings, allowing no walks and just two hits. Wilson went nine innings, allowing five hits and three walks. After the starters exited, eleven relievers (seven for

2580-510: The 2019 World Series , giving them their first World Series championship, with Strasburg being voted series MVP . The World Series was the first in MLB history that saw no team win a game at home, as the road team won all seven. The Nationals went a perfect 5-0 in elimination games during the playoffs, all of which were come-from-behind victories, the first team in MLB history to do so. Franchise cornerstone Anthony Rendon left in free agency for

2709-524: The Astrodome , in 1965. The name honored Houston's position as the center of the nation's space program— NASA 's new Manned Spacecraft Center had recently opened southeast of the city. The Astrodome, called the "Eighth Wonder of the World", did little to improve the home team's results on the field. While several "indoor" firsts were accomplished, the team still finished ninth in the standings. The attendance

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2838-861: The Boston Red Sox were sold to a partnership led by John W. Henry , owner of the Florida Marlins . In order to clear the way for Henry's group to assume Red Sox ownership, Henry sold the Marlins to Loria who in turn sold the Expos to MLB. However, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission , the Metrodome 's operator, won an injunction requiring the Twins to play there in 2002. MLB's inability to revoke

2967-495: The Cardinals was another big win. Cruz became a fixture in the Astros' outfield for several years and would eventually have his number 25 retired. Despite high expectations, 1975 was among the Astros' worst in franchise history. Their record of 64–97 was far worse than even the expansion Colt .45's and would remain the worst record in franchise history until 2011 . It was the worst record in baseball and manager Preston Gómez

3096-566: The Chicago Cubs with Harry Craft as the Colt .45s' manager. Bob Aspromonte scored the first run for the Colt .45s on an Al Spangler triple in the first inning. They started the season with a three-game sweep of the Cubs but eventually finished eighth among the National League's ten teams. The team's best pitcher, Richard "Turk" Farrell , lost 20 games despite an ERA of 3.02. A starter for

3225-549: The Chicago White Sox . After a major slump throughout the next decade, the team was purchased by business owner Jim Crane in 2011 for $ 680 million. Under Crane's ownership, the Astros embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies in their transition to the American League, and by the mid-2010s transformed from a historically middling franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs, as headlined by stars such as Jose Altuve . Since then,

3354-578: The Houston Astros in seven games to earn their first championship. As of the end of the 2024 season, the franchise's overall win–loss record is 4,265–4,569–4 (.483). Since moving to Washington, D.C., their overall win–loss record is 1,510–1,626 (.482) Multiple short-lived baseball franchises, including two named the Nationals, played in Washington with the National Association in the 1870s. The first Washington Nationals team in

3483-488: The Los Angeles Angels after the 2019 season. The Nationals agreed to re-sign fellow building block Stephen Strasburg to a massive seven-year deal that guaranteed him $ 245 million. However, injuries limited him to just 31 and 1/3 innings under the contract, and eventually forced him to retire in 2024. The Nationals struggled in 2020 , when the coronavirus pandemic led to the season being shortened to 60 games;

3612-709: The Navy Yard neighborhood of the Southeast quadrant of D.C. along the Anacostia River . The Nationals are the eighth major league franchise to be based in Washington, D.C. , and the first since 1971. The current franchise was founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos as part of a four-team expansion . After a failed contraction plan , MLB bought the Expos, seeking to move the team to a new city. MLB owners chose Washington, D.C. in 2004 and established

3741-546: The San Francisco Giants . In 2014, they acquired shortstop prospect Trea Turner in a trade with the San Diego Padres, with Turner eventually becoming a major part of the Nationals' core. In 2015, the Nationals signed top free agent pitcher Max Scherzer to a 7-year, $ 210 million contract. That year, Harper had one of the greatest offensive seasons in MLB history, becoming the youngest player to win

3870-609: The Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers (known as the Lone Star Series ), as well as a recurring postseason rivalry with the New York Yankees . From 1962 through the end of the 2024 season, the Astros' all-time record is 5,009–4,965–5 (.502). In addition to having the most postseason appearances by an expansion team, they are the only expansion era team with an all-time winning record. In 2024,

3999-725: The Seattle Pilots (now the Milwaukee Brewers ), Kansas City Royals , and San Diego Padres . Based in Montreal , the Expos were the first Major League team in Canada and were named after the Expo 67 World's Fair . The majority-share owner was Charles Bronfman , a major shareholder in Seagram . The Expos' initial home was Jarry Park . Under manager Gene Mauch , the team lost 110 games in their first season, coincidentally matching

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4128-439: The "Capitol W" crest on the left chest and a new sleeve patch depicting the "interlocking DC" logo inside the silhouette of Washington, D.C. The chest numbers on both the primary home and alternate navy uniforms were removed. As part of MLB's uniform deal with Nike , selected teams were given themed "City Connect" uniforms. The Nationals' version, unveiled in 2022, pay homage to the cherry blossoms that adorn Washington, D.C. in

4257-400: The 1940s. On November 21, 2004, the team's management chose the name "Washington Nationals", revealing the club's official colors of red, white, and blue the next day. The Nationals played their first three seasons at RFK Stadium until Nationals Park could be built. Nationals Park was completed in 2008, and the Nationals played their first home game there on March 30, 2008. ESPN televised

4386-511: The 1969 season with a record of 81 wins, 81 losses, marking their first season of .500 ball. In 1970 , the Astros were expected to be a serious threat in the National League West. In June, 19-year-old César Cedeño was called up and immediately showed signs of being a superstar. The Dominican outfielder batted .310 after being called up. Not to be outdone, Menke batted .304 and Jesús Alou batted .306. The Astros' batting average

4515-510: The 1971–1975 Oakland Athletics . The Astros maintain an ardent fanbase and strong global recognition, in part due to their penchant for scouting and signing international players, but have also attracted enmity in the wake of the sign stealing scandal. While in the National League, the Astros held rivalries with the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals , but since their transition to the American League, have come to hold divisional rivalries with

4644-583: The 1983 season with an injury, forcing Phil Garner to third and Ray Knight to first. Doran took over at second, becoming the everyday second baseman for the next seven seasons. The Astros finished third in the National League West. The 1984 season started off badly when shortstop Dickie Thon was hit in the head by a pitch and was lost for the season. In September, the Astros called up rookie Glenn Davis after he posted impressive numbers in AAA. The Astros finished in second place. In 1985 , Mike Scott learned

4773-425: The 1991 season. In May 1992, the Expos promoted Felipe Alou , a member of the Expos organization since 1976, to become the first Dominican-born manager in MLB history. Alou would go on to be the franchise leader in games managed while guiding the team to winning records, including 1994 when the Expos, led by a talented group of players including Larry Walker , Moisés Alou , Marquis Grissom and Pedro Martínez , had

4902-570: The 2000 season, reducing the team's media coverage. After the 2001 season, MLB considered revoking the team's franchise, along with that of either the Minnesota Twins or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays . In November 2001, Major League Baseball's owners voted 28–2 to contract the league by two teams — according to various sources, the Expos and the Minnesota Twins, both of which reportedly voted against contraction. Subsequently,

5031-466: The 2009 season, the Nationals kept the same home uniform but unveiled a new road and red alternate uniform, along with a roundel-less "DC" sleeve patch. The road uniform now featured a script rendition of the city name in front minus the gold bevels, with the letters now rendered in red with navy and gold trim. The red alternate replaced the "DC" logo with the "curly W" logo, and numbers changed to white with gold bevels and navy trim. The Nationals unveiled

5160-656: The 2010s. The team had back-to-back first overall picks in the MLB draft in 2009 and 2010, selecting Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper . The team secured their first playoff berth and first division title in 2012 and won the National League East again in 2014 , 2016 , and 2017 , but failed to advance past the NLDS each time. In 2019, the team advanced to the World Series as a Wild Card team and defeated

5289-659: The Astrodome, control of the Astrodomain (including the Astros) was passed from Roy Hofheinz to GE Credit and Ford Motor Credit. The creditors were just interested in preserving asset value of the team, so any money spent had to be found or saved somewhere else. Tal Smith returned to the Astros from the New York Yankees to find a team that needed a lot of work and did not have a lot of money. However, there would be some bright spots that would prove to be good investments in

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5418-401: The Astrodome. Lanier's style of baseball took Houston by storm. Before Lanier took over, fans were accustomed to Houston's occasional slow starts, but with Lanier leading the way, Houston got off to a hot start, winning 13 of their first 19 contests. Prior to the start of the season the Astros acquired outfielder Billy Hatcher from the Cubs for Jerry Mumphrey . Lainer also made a change in

5547-403: The Astros and the visiting teams to miss routine pop flies. A new artificial turf was created called " AstroTurf " and Houston would be involved in yet another change in the way the game was played. With new manager Grady Hatton , the Astros started the 1966 season strong. By May they were in second place in the National League and looked like a team that could contend. Joe Morgan was named as

5676-623: The Astros became the second expansion team to reach 5,000 wins. From 1888 until 1961, Houston's professional baseball club was the minor league Houston Buffaloes . Although expansion from the National League eventually brought an MLB team to Texas in 1962 , Houston officials had been making efforts to do so for years prior, with a group effort led in 1952 to buy the St. Louis Cardinals for $ 4.25 million, but local owners were instead chosen. There were four men chiefly responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to Houston: journalist/promoter George Kirksey, Craig Cullinan Jr. , R.E. "Bob" Smith ,

5805-631: The Astros fired general manager Al Rosen and manager Bob Lillis . The former was supplanted by Dick Wagner , the man whose Reds defeated the Astros to win the 1979 NL West title. The latter was replaced by Hal Lanier who, like his manager mentor in St. Louis, Whitey Herzog , had a hard-nosed approach to managing and espoused a playing style that focused on pitching, defense, and speed rather than home runs to win games. This style of baseball, known as Whiteyball , took advantage of stadiums with deep fences and artificial turf, both of which were characteristics of

5934-464: The Astros from 1967 until 1975. Although most players for the major league franchise were obtained through the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft , Buffs players J.C. Hartman , Pidge Browne , Jim Campbell , Ron Davis , Dave Giusti , and Dave Roberts were chosen to continue as major league ball players. Similarly, the radio broadcasting team remained with the new Houston major league franchise. Loel Passe worked alongside Gene Elston as

6063-514: The Astros had lost their ace pitcher after a 10–4 start with a stingy 1.89 ERA. Richard attempted a comeback, but would never again pitch a big league game. After the loss of Richard and some offensive struggles, the Astros slipped to third place in the division behind the Dodgers and the Reds. They bounced back to first with a ten-game winning streak, but the Dodgers regained a two-game lead before arriving in Houston on September 9. The Astros won

6192-586: The Astros had talent and he put it to work. The Astrodome was host to the 1986 All-Star Game in which Astros Mike Scott , Kevin Bass , Glenn Davis , and Dave Smith represented the host field. The Astros kept pace with the NL West after the All-Star break. They went on a streak of five straight come-from-behind wins. Houston swept a key 3-game series over the San Francisco Giants in late September to clinch

6321-407: The Astros have won over 100 games in four seasons, and have appeared in a record seven consecutive American League Championship Series , winning four of the last seven American League pennants. During this era, the Astros won the 2017 World Series , their first championship, against the Los Angeles Dodgers ; however, this win drew controversy and backlash from fans after the Astros were implicated in

6450-550: The Astros made some changes to their uniform: they kept the same style they had in previous seasons, but inverted the colors. What was navy was now orange and what was orange was now a lighter shade of blue. The players' last names were added to the back of the jerseys. In 1972, the uniform fabric was also changed to what was at the time revolutionizing the industry – polyester. Belts were replaced by elastic waistbands, and jerseys zipped up instead of having buttons. The uniforms became popular with fans, but would last only until 1975, when

6579-490: The Astros to complete the trade. Cuellar was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Curt Blefary . Other new players included catcher Johnny Edwards , infielder Denis Menke and pitcher Denny Lemaster . Wilson continued to pitch brilliantly and on May 1 threw the second no-hitter of his career. In that game, he struck out 18 batters, tying what was then the all-time single-game mark. He was just 24 years of age and

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6708-468: The Astros were ahead at Shea Stadium , 5–4, in the bottom of the 9th when closer Dave Smith gave up a two-run home run to Lenny Dykstra , giving the Mets a dramatic 6–5 win. However, the signature game of the series was Game 6. Needing a win to get to Mike Scott (who had been dominant in the series) in Game 7, the Astros jumped off to a 3–0 lead in the first inning but neither team would score again until

6837-420: The Astros with 28 home runs and Cesar Cedeño batted .320 with 25 home runs. Bob Watson hit the .312 mark and drove in 94 runs. Doug Rader and Jimmy Wynn both had 20 or more home runs. However, injuries to their pitching staff limited the Astros to an 82–80 fourth-place finish. The Astros again finished in fourth place the next year under new manager Preston Gómez . With the $ 38 million deficit of

6966-534: The Astros with 90 RBIs. The Menke/Morgan punch was beginning to come alive, and the team was responding to Walker's management style. The Astros dominated the season series against their expansion twins, the New York Mets. In one game at New York, Denis Menke and Jimmy Wynn hit grand slams in the same inning, against a Mets team that would go on to win the World Series that same year. The Astros finished

7095-530: The Astros would shock baseball and the fashion world. The uniforms were about the only thing that did change in 1971. The acquisition of Roger Metzger from the Chicago Cubs in the off-season moved Menke to first base and Bob Watson to the outfield. The Astros got off to a slow start and the pitching and hitting averages were down. Larry Dierker was selected to the All-Star Game in 1971, but due to an arm injury he could not make it. César Cedeño led

7224-412: The Colt .45s, Farrell was primarily a relief pitcher prior to playing for Houston. He was selected to both All-Star Games in 1962. The 1963 season saw more young talent mixed with seasoned veterans. Jimmy Wynn , Rusty Staub , and Joe Morgan all made their major league debuts in the 1963 season . However, Houston's position in the standings did not improve, as the Colt .45s finished in ninth place with

7353-780: The District of Columbia objected to the name Senators because the District of Columbia does not have voting representation in Congress . In addition, the Rangers still owned the rights to the Senators name. Washington, D.C. mayor Anthony A. Williams supported the name "Washington Grays" in honor of the Negro-league team Homestead Grays (1929–1950), which had been based in Pittsburgh but played most of their of their home games in Washington's Griffith Stadium during much of

7482-710: The Dominican Republic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a baseball team is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division . They play their home games at Nationals Park , located on South Capitol Street in

7611-405: The HSA to sell the team. To make matters worse, the Continental League as a whole folded in August 1960. However, on October 17, 1960, the National League granted an expansion franchise to the Houston Sports Association for them to begin play in the 1962 season. According to the Major League Baseball Constitution , the Houston Sports Association was required to obtain territorial rights from

7740-404: The Houston Buffaloes in order to play in the Houston area, resulting in the HSA revisiting negotiations. Eventually, the Houston Sports Association succeeded in purchasing the Houston Buffaloes, which were at this point majority-owned by William Hopkins, on January 17, 1961. The Buffs played one last minor league season as the top farm team of the Chicago Cubs in 1961 before being succeeded by

7869-413: The Mets and four for the Astros) tried to end the game. The game finally ended in the 24th inning when Bob Aspromonte hit a shot toward Mets shortstop Al Weis . Weis had been perfect all night at short, but he was not quick enough to make the play. The ball zipped into left field, allowing Norm Miller to score. With baseball expansion and trades, the Astros had dramatically changed in 1969 . Aspromonte

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7998-411: The NL MVP unanimously. However the Nationals missed the playoffs again, leading to Williams' firing. The team hired veteran manager Dusty Baker in 2016, and returned to the playoffs only to be eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2016 NLDS in five games. They won the NL East title in 2017, but were eliminated in the NLDS yet again after losing game 5 to the Chicago Cubs . Baker's contract

8127-414: The NLCS. The Phillies would win the opener after the Astros got out to a 1–0 third-inning lead. Ken Forsch pitched particularly strong fourth and fifth innings, but Greg Luzinski hit a sixth-inning two-run bomb to the 300 level seats of Veterans Stadium . The Phillies added an insurance run on the way to a 3–1 win. Houston bounced back to win games two and three. Game four went into extra innings, with

8256-461: The Nationals lost its franchise icon and one of the last integral players from the 2019 championship team. The Nationals received one of the largest prospect hauls in any single trade in baseball history in return, with the front office hoping that the elite prospects would form the core of the next championship team. After trading Soto and others, the Nationals finished the 2022 season with the worst record in baseball at 55-107. That year proved to be

8385-417: The Nationals the next year, in the first MLB franchise move since 1971 when the third Washington Senators moved to Arlington, Texas to become the Texas Rangers . No MLB teams have moved since, although the Oakland Athletics are currently in the process of relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada . While the team initially struggled after moving to Washington, the Nationals enjoyed considerable success throughout

8514-455: The Nationals was Virginia native Ryan Zimmerman in the first round of the 2005 draft. Zimmerman made his MLB debut in 2005 and became one of the team's best players and the face of the franchise, playing his entire career with the Nationals. When Ted Lerner took over the club in mid-2006, he hired Stan Kasten as team president. Kasten was widely known as the Atlanta Braves ' architect before and during their run of 14 division titles. Kasten

8643-420: The Nationals, played in the National League from 1892 to 1899. They were followed in 1901 by another Washington Senators franchise — a charter member of the new American League — who were officially named the Washington Nationals from 1905 to 1955. In 1912, another Washington Senators team formed as one of eight teams of the United States Baseball League . But the league and the team folded after just over

8772-580: The Padres' inaugural win–loss record, and continued to struggle during their first decade with sub-.500 seasons. In 1977, the Expos moved into Montreal's Olympic Stadium , which was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics . Two years later, the team won a franchise-high 95 games, finishing second in the NL East. The Expos began the 1980s with a core group of young players, including catcher Gary Carter , outfielders Tim Raines and Andre Dawson , third baseman Tim Wallach , and pitchers Steve Rogers and Bill Gullickson . The team won its only division championship in

8901-419: The Phillies an 8–7 lead. The Astros failed to score in the bottom of the tenth. A 1981 player strike ran between June 12 and August 10. Ultimately, the strike would help the Astros get into the playoffs. Nolan Ryan and Bob Knepper picked up steam in the second half of the season. Ryan threw his fifth no-hitter on September 26 and finished the season with a 1.69 ERA. Knepper finished with an ERA of 2.18. In

9030-450: The Phillies taking the lead and the win in the tenth inning. Pete Rose started a rally with a one-out single, then Luzinski doubled off the left-field wall and Rose bowled over catcher Bruce Bochy to score the go-ahead run. The Phillies got an insurance run on the way to tying the series. Rookie Phillies pitcher Marty Bystrom was sent out by Philadelphia manager Dallas Green to face veteran Nolan Ryan in Game Five. The rookie gave up

9159-467: The Reds getting the better end of the deal. Houston sent second baseman Joe Morgan , infielder Denis Menke , pitcher Jack Billingham , outfielder César Gerónimo and prospect Ed Armbrister to Cincinnati for first baseman Lee May , second baseman Tommy Helms and infielder Jimmy Stewart . The trade left Astros fans and the baseball world scratching their heads as to why general manager Spec Richardson would give up so much for so little. The Reds, on

9288-624: The Twins franchise compelled it to keep both the Twins and Expos as part of the regular season schedule . The collective bargaining agreement signed with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in August 2002 prohibited contraction until the end of the contract in 2006. By that time, the Expos had become the Washington Nationals and the Twins had made sufficient progress towards

9417-565: The Vice President of Baseball Operations, second in charge under then-general manager Jim Bowden . The Nationals finished in last place in four out of five years from 2006-2010, but began building the foundations of a contender with their first-overall draft picks of pitcher Stephen Strasburg (in 2009 ) and catcher Bryce Harper , whom the team converted to the outfield, (in 2010 ), as well as their sixth-overall draft pick of infielder Anthony Rendon (in 2011 ). Strasburg, arguably

9546-417: The acquisitions of Joe Niekro and José Cruz . The Astros bought Niekro from the Braves for almost nothing. Niekro had bounced around the big leagues with minimal success. His older brother Phil Niekro had started teaching Joe how to throw his knuckleball and Joe was just starting to use it when he came to the Astros. Niekro won six games, saved four games and had an ERA of 3.07. Acquiring José Cruz from

9675-404: The all-red "DC" cap. The Nationals sported two different sleeve patches with this set. In their inaugural season, the patch featured gold accents, the full team name and two gold stars on the outer navy circle, and the interlocking "DC" on the inner red circle. The patch was tweaked the following season, eliminating the team name in favor of nine gold stars and relegating red to trim color. For

9804-483: The all-red "curly W" cap. The road uniforms contained the city name and numbers in navy with gold bevels and red trim, and were paired with the all-navy "curly W" cap. The front letters of both uniforms formed a distinct bridge-like shape. This set was joined the following season by a red alternate uniform, which featured the interlocking "DC" in white with gold bevels and navy trim, as well as numbers in navy with gold bevels and white trim. The red alternates were paired with

9933-479: The best record in the major leagues until the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike forced the cancellation of the remainder of the season. After the disappointment of 1994, Expos management began shedding its key players and the team's fan support dwindled. Brochu sold control of the team to Jeffrey Loria in 1999, but Loria failed to secure funding to build a new downtown ballpark and did not reach an agreement on television or English radio broadcast contracts for

10062-425: The chest down, the uniform was a solid block of yellow, orange, and red stripes. There was also a large dark blue star over the midsection. The same multi-colored stripes ran down the pant legs. Players' numbers not only appeared on the back of the jersey, but also on the pant leg. The bright stripes were meant to appear as a fiery trail like a rocket sweeping across the heavens. The uniforms were panned by critics, but

10191-486: The city of Houston that he too wanted a winning team, signing nearby Alvin, Texas native Nolan Ryan to the first million-dollar-a-year deal. Ryan had four career no-hitters already and had struck out 383 in one season. Joe Morgan returned in 1980. The 1980 pitching staff was one of the best Houston ever had, with the fastball of Ryan, the knuckleball of Joe Niekro and the terrifying 6 ft 8 in frame of J. R. Richard . Teams felt lucky to face Ken Forsch , who

10320-484: The city's NL club. The new Houston team was named the Colt .45s after a "Name the Team" contest was won by William Irving Neder. The Colt .45 was well known as "the gun that won the west". The colors selected were navy and orange. The first team was formed mostly through an expansion draft after the 1961 season. The Colt .45s and their expansion cousins, the New York Mets , took turns choosing players left unprotected by

10449-523: The club with 81 RBIs and the league with 40 doubles, but batted just .264 and had 102 strikeouts in his second season with the Astros. Pitcher J. R. Richard made his debut in September of the 1971 season against the Giants . In November 1971 the Astros and Cincinnati Reds made one of the biggest blockbuster trades in the history of the sport, and helped create The Big Red Machine of the 1970s, with

10578-437: The division title. Mike Scott took the mound in the final game of the series and pitched a no-hitter – the only time in MLB history that any division was clinched via a no-hitter. Scott would finish the season with an 18–10 record and a Cy Young Award . The 1986 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets was noted for its drama and is considered to be one of the greatest postseason series. In Game 3,

10707-402: The end of Larry Dierker 's playing career as an Astro, but before it was all over he would throw a no-hitter and win the 1,000th game in the Astrodome. The Astros finished in third place again in 1977 with a record of 81–81. One of the big problems the Astros had in the late 1970s was that they were unable to compete in the free-agent market. Ford Motor Credit Company was still in control of

10836-529: The eventual building of a new baseball-specific stadium that contraction was no longer on the agenda. With contraction no longer an option in the immediate term, MLB began looking for a new site for the Expos. Some of the choices included Oklahoma City ; Washington, D.C. ; San Juan, Puerto Rico ; Monterrey, Mexico ; Portland, Oregon ; Northern Virginia (such as Arlington or Dulles ); Norfolk, Virginia ; Las Vegas ; and Charlotte, North Carolina . Washington, D.C. , and both Virginia locations emerged as

10965-447: The expansion Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers ). However, only the "Capitol W" cap was used, and the "pitcher W" cap was not utilized on the field at all and immediately retired. For most of the 2020 season, the Nationals wore gold-accented versions of the new white uniforms in celebration of their World Series championship, along with all-red caps with the gold "curly W" logo. The script white alternates made their on-field debut on

11094-407: The final regular season home game September 27 against the New York Mets , and were paired with the "Capitol W" cap (the red "curly W" batting helmets were used with this uniform). The Nationals did not wear their home and red alternate "curly W" uniforms throughout that shortened season. In 2021, the white alternates were also paired with the primary red "curly W" cap, though the alternate Capitol cap

11223-399: The first Astros player in team history to hit for the cycle in August versus the Reds. The Astros finished the strike-shortened season at 84–69, their first winning season. Astros fans had hoped for more of the same in 1973 , but it was not to be. The Astros run production was down, even though the same five sluggers the year before were still punching the ball out of the park. Lee May led

11352-486: The first two games of the series to tie the Dodgers for the division lead. The Astros went on to win a third game and take the lead- with three games against the Dodgers left. The Dodgers swept the next series, forcing a one-game playoff the next day. The Astros won the playoff game 7–1, and advanced to their first post-season. The team would face the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 National League Championship Series . The Phillies sent out Steve Carlton in game one of

11481-538: The formation of a new league to compete with the established National and American Leagues. They called the new league the Continental League . Wanting to protect potential new markets, both existing leagues chose to expand from eight teams to ten. However, plans eventually fell through for the Houston franchise after the Houston Buffaloes owner, Marty Marion , could not come to an agreement with

11610-489: The front-runners. On September 29, 2004, MLB announced that the Expos would move to Washington, D.C. for the 2005 season, returning professional baseball to the United States's capital. On November 15, arbitrators struck down a lawsuit former team owners brought against MLB and former majority owner Jeffrey Loria , bringing to an end all legal actions that could have impeded a move. The other MLB team owners approved

11739-606: The game nationally, for which U.S. President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch. Ryan Zimmerman hit his fifth career walk-off home run to give the Nationals a win in the first game in their new stadium. The Nationals played their first game on April 4, 2005 at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia , losing to the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4. The Nationals finished their inaugural season at .500 with an 81-81 record. Its first draft pick as

11868-405: The horizon, the structure of the new domed stadium was more prevalent and it would soon change the way that baseball was watched in Houston and around the league. On December 1, 1964, the team announced the name change from the Colt .45s to the "Astros". With Judge Roy Hofheinz now the sole owner of the franchise and the new venue complete, the renamed Astros moved into their new domed stadium,

11997-745: The host of the Johnson Space Center , was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome , the first-ever domed sports stadium and the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World". The Astros moved to Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park ) in 2000 . The team played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of an MLB realignment in 2013. The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made

12126-453: The longtime face of the franchise who had been with the team since its inaugural 2005 season, announced his retirement after the 2021 season, marking the end of the first era of Nationals baseball. On August 2, 2022, the Nationals traded 23-year-old superstar Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres after he turned down a 15-year, $ 440 million contract extension offer, which would have constituted the richest contract in baseball history. In doing so,

12255-408: The low point for the Nationals rebuild, as young players such as CJ Abrams and Josiah Gray led them to an improvement of 16 wins in 2023, finishing at 71-91. Additionally, the rebuild had strengthened a once-weak group of prospects. ESPN's annual farm system ranking showed improvement from 30th entering 2021 to 22nd in 2022, 13th in 2023, and 16th in 2024. The Nationals ended the 2024 season with

12384-483: The most hyped prospect in baseball history, struck out 14 batters in an unprecedented Major League debut at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates . In 2011, they signed Jayson Werth to the team's first big free-agent contract. With a mix of homegrown players and players acquired via trade and free agency, the Nationals clinched their first playoff berth and first division title in 2012. Teenage phenom Harper

12513-431: The move to Washington, D.C., in a 28–1 vote on December 3 ( Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos cast the sole dissenting vote). Although there was some sentiment to revive the name Senators when the Expos moved to Washington in 2005, legal and political considerations factored into the choice of Nationals, a revival of the first American League franchise's official name used from 1901 to 1956. Politicians and others in

12642-432: The near future. The year started on a sad note. Pitcher Don Wilson was found dead in the passenger seat of his car on January 5, 1975; the cause of death was asphyxiation by carbon monoxide. Wilson was 29 years old. Wilson's number 40 was retired on April 13, 1975. The 1975 season saw the introduction of the Astros' new uniforms. Many teams were going away from the traditional uniform and the Astros were no exception. From

12771-410: The other National League franchises. Many players and staff associated with the Houston Buffaloes organization continued in the major leagues. Manager Harry Craft , who had joined Houston in 1961, remained in the same position for the team until the end of the 1964 season . General manager Spec Richardson also continued with the organization as business manager but was later promoted back to GM for

12900-531: The other hand, would shore up many problems. They had an off year in 1971, but were the National League Pennant winner in 1972 . The Astros' acquisition of Lee May added more power to the lineup in 1972 . May, Wynn, Rader and Cedeño all had 20 or more home runs and Watson hit 16. Cedeño also led the Astros with a .320 batting average, 55 stolen bases and made spectacular plays on the field. Cedeño made his first All-Star game in 1972 and became

13029-479: The pitching staff, going with a three-man rotation to start the season. This allowed Lanier to keep his three starters ( Nolan Ryan , Bob Knepper , and Mike Scott ) sharp and to slowly work in rookie hurler Jim Deshaies . Bill Doran and Glenn Davis held down the right side of the field but Lainer rotated the left side. Denny Walling and Craig Reynolds faced the right-handed pitchers while Phil Garner and Dickie Thon batted against left-handers. Lanier knew

13158-552: The playoffs for the first time in 1980 , before winning a total of three division titles throughout the 1980s. Spearheaded by the Killer B's , a collection of prominent hitters that included the Astros' only Hall of Fame members Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell , the Astros began reaching major prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with four further division titles and two Wild Card appearances, culminating in their first World Series appearance in 2005 where they were swept by

13287-416: The playoffs. After the 2018 season, superstar slugger Bryce Harper left the team via free agency, signing with the rival Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals began the 2019 season with a record of 19–31, with their projected chances of winning the World Series at that time being 1.5 percent. They then posted a 74–38 record over the remaining 112 games, finishing with an overall record of 93-69 and earning

13416-432: The public liked them and versions started appearing at the high school and little league level. The uniform was so different from what other teams wore that the Astros wore it both at home and on the road until 1980. Besides the bright new uniforms there were some other changes. Lee May was traded to Baltimore for much talked about rookie second baseman Rob Andrews and utility player Enos Cabell . In Baltimore, Cabell

13545-511: The same record as 2023 at 71-91. However, the rebuild progressed with top prospects James Wood , acquired via the Soto trade, and Dylan Crews , drafted #2 overall in 2023, making their debuts. Additionally, shortstop CJ Abrams, also acquired via the Soto trade, was selected to the 2024 All-Star Game. In 2022, The Washington Post reported that the Lerner family was exploring a restructuring of

13674-486: The script version of the team name in navy with red trim. Initially, the Nationals unveiled a pair of white-paneled and red-brimmed alternate caps: one in navy with the United States Capitol dome superimposed over a white block "W", and another in red with a navy block "W" superimposed over the silhouette of a pitcher. Both designs paid homage to the original Washington Senators (now Minnesota Twins ) and

13803-522: The second half, Houston beat Los Angeles in their first two playoff games at home, but the Dodgers took the next three in Los Angeles to advance to the NLCS . By 1982 , only four players and three starting pitchers remained from the 1980 squad. The Astros were out of pennant contention by August and began rebuilding for the near future. Bill Virdon was fired as manager and replaced by original Colt .45 Bob Lillis . Don Sutton asked to be traded and

13932-630: The spring. The design has a dark gray base with pink trim and printed cherry blossoms. The uniforms were worn during Friday and Saturday home games until 2024. After 2024, the City Connect uniforms were retired. In 2009, the Nationals unveiled a navy alternate uniform for games that fell during Independence Day week . The uniform featured the "interlocking DC" logo rendered in the Stars and Stripes motif, along with white/red piping and white numbers with gold bevels and red trim. The original primary logo

14061-545: The strike-shortened split season of 1981, ending its season with a three-games-to-two loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series . The team spent most of the 1980s in the middle of the NL East pack, finishing in third or fourth place in eight out of nine seasons from 1982 to 1990. The Expos hired Buck Rodgers as manager before the 1985 season, and he guided

14190-582: The team and was looking to sell the Astros, but would not spend money on better players. Most of the talent was either farm grown or bought cheaply. The 1979 season would prove to be a big turnaround in Astros history. During the offseason, the Astros attempted to fix some of their problem areas. They traded Floyd Bannister to Seattle for shortstop Craig Reynolds and acquired catcher Alan Ashby from Toronto for pitcher Mark Lemongello . Reynolds and Ashby were both solid in their positions and gave Houston some much-needed consistency. The season started with

14319-428: The team finished 26-34 and missed the playoffs. After another disappointing start to the 2021 season, in which the team was under .500 at the trade deadline, GM Mike Rizzo disassembled much of the team, trading ace pitcher Max Scherzer and superstar shortstop Trea Turner to the Dodgers, among many other trades of starting players in exchange for prospects, signifying the start of a rebuilding process. Ryan Zimmerman ,

14448-445: The team to winning records five times in six years, with the highlight coming in 1987 when they won 91 games (.562). They finished third, but were just four games behind the division-winning Cardinals . Bronfman sold the team to a consortium of owners in 1991, with Claude Brochu as the managing general partner. The new ownership replaced Rodgers, at that time second only to Gene Mauch in number of Expos games managed, partway through

14577-417: The team's ownership, including the possibility of selling the team outright. Ted Lerner died on February 13, 2023, from pneumonia complications; his son Mark had become the public-facing principal owner in 2018, though Ted had retained his full interest in the team's decisions. The Nationals' original home uniforms contained the team name and numbers in red with gold bevels and navy trim, and were paired with

14706-468: The wake of the strike, Major League Baseball took the winners of each "half" season and set up a best-of-five divisional playoff. The Reds won more games than any other team in the National League, but they won neither half of the strike-divided season. The Astros finished 61–49 overall, which would have been third in the division behind the Reds and the Dodgers . Advancing to the playoffs as winners of

14835-406: Was a double-digit winner in the previous two seasons. Richard became the first Astros pitcher to start an All-Star game. Three days later, Richard was told to rest his arm after a medical examination and on July 30 he collapsed during a workout. He had suffered a stroke after a blood clot in the arm apparently moved to his neck and cut off blood flow to the brain. Surgery was done to save his life, but

14964-402: Was added to the "curly W" uniforms. In 2018 the Nationals released a navy alternate uniform, featuring a script rendition of the team name in white with red trim along with red numbers. The following season, the navy uniform proved to be a good-luck charm for the Nationals, as they went 11–3 while wearing the uniforms en route to winning the World Series. In 2020, a white version was added, with

15093-453: Was added to the left sleeve, and a navy cap with red brim containing the aforementioned "DC flag" logo was used. In 2011, the uniform was tweaked to feature the "curly W" in Stars and Stripes, along with updated logos and the removal of gold accents. The road navy cap was originally used with this uniform, but in 2016 it was replaced by a similar design, with the exception of the "curly W" which

15222-596: Was also the General Manager or president of many other Atlanta -area sports teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers . "The Plan", as it became known, was a long-range rebuilding and restructuring of the team from the ground up. This plan included investing in the farm system and the draft to build a team suitable for their new stadium. In the front office, the Nationals hired well-respected former Arizona scouting director Mike Rizzo to be

15351-512: Was fired late in the season and replaced by Bill Virdon . The Astros played .500 ball under Virdon in the last 34 games of the season. With Virdon as the manager the Astros improved greatly in 1976 finishing in third place with an 80–82 record. A healthy César Cedeño was a key reason for the Astros' success in 1976. Bob Watson continued to show consistency and led the club with a .313 average and 102 RBI. José Cruz became Houston's everyday left fielder and hit .303 with 28 stolen bases. 1976 saw

15480-412: Was high not because of the team's accomplishments, but because people came from miles around to see the Astrodome. Just as the excitement was settling down over the Astrodome, the 1966 season found something new to put the domed stadium in the spotlight once again – the field. Grass would not grow in the new park, since the roof panels had been painted to reduce the glare that was causing players on both

15609-517: Was named NL Rookie of the Year, the youngest ever to win. The Nationals were knocked out of the 2012 NLDS by the St. Louis Cardinals in five games after the Cardinals took the lead with two outs in the top of the ninth of game 5. After missing the playoffs in 2013, they hired Matt Williams as manager and rebounded to win their second division title in 2014, but were eliminated in the 2014 NLDS by

15738-595: Was not renewed after the 2017 playoff loss, and the team hired Dave Martinez as their sixth manager in ten years. In 2018, the All-Star Game was played at Nationals Park. 19-year-old phenom Juan Soto had an exceptional debut campaign, finishing 2nd in NL Rookie of the Year Voting. The Nationals failed to make the playoffs in 2018, finishing a disappointing second in a year they were expected to sail to

15867-731: Was now rendered in the Stars and Stripes. This design was used until 2019, during which the uniform was no longer exclusively worn on Independence Day week. In 2017 a white version of the "Stars and Stripes" alternate was released; this one is paired with the navy-brimmed red cap featuring the "curly W" in Stars and Stripes. Bold denotes a playoff season, pennant, or championship; italics denote an active season. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston . The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as

15996-473: Was second to only Sandy Koufax for career no-hit wins. Wilson's no-hitter lit the Astros' fire after a miserable month of April, and six days later the team tied a major league record by turning seven double plays in a game. By May's end, the Astros had put together a ten-game winning streak. The Houston infield tandem of Menke and Joe Morgan continued to improve, providing power at the plate and great defense. Morgan had 15 homers and stole 49 bases while Menke led

16125-414: Was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers for cash and the team gained three new prospects, including Kevin Bass . Minor league player Bill Doran was called up in September. The Astros finished fourth in the west, but new talent was starting to appear. Before the 1983 season , the Astros traded Danny Heep to the Mets for pitcher Mike Scott , a 28-year-old who had struggled with New York. Art Howe sat out

16254-428: Was sent to the Braves and Rusty Staub was traded to the expansion Montreal Expos , in exchange for outfielder Jesús Alou and first baseman Donn Clendenon . However, Clendenon refused to report to Houston, electing to retire and take job with a pen manufacturing company. The Astros asked Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to void the trade, but he refused. Instead, he awarded Jack Billingham and a left-handed relief pitcher to

16383-414: Was still used occasionally. Starting in 2022, the white alternate uniform with the "Nationals" script became the primary home uniform, replacing the white "curly W" uniform. In 2024, the Nationals updated their road uniform, featuring a block "Washington" lettering in navy with white and red trim. The red "curly W" alternates were replaced by an alternate white pullover uniform with navy sleeves, featuring

16512-406: Was stuck behind third baseman Brooks Robinson , but he took advantage of his opportunity in Houston and became their everyday third baseman. Cabell would go on to become a big part of the team's success in later years. With May gone, Bob Watson was able to move to first base and was a bright spot in the line up, batting .324 with 85 RBI. The two biggest moves the Astros made in the offseason were

16641-415: Was up by 19 points compared to the season before. The team looked good, but the Astros' ERA was up. Larry Dierker and Wilson had winning records, but the pitching staff as a whole had an off season. Houston finished in fourth place in 1970. The fashion trends of the 1970s had started taking root in baseball. Long hair and loud colors were starting to appear on team uniforms, including the Astros'. In 1971

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