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The Expos joined the National League in 1969, along with the San Diego PadresFor the minor league franchise in the Pacific Coast League, see: San Diego Padres (PCL). The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They are in the Western Division of the National League. Founded 1969 ( National. They were named for Expo 67The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or simply Expo 67 was a World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1967 to coincide with the Canadian Centennial that year. Ironically, "Expo 67" was originally going to be held in Moscow, to help the, a world's fair that was held in Montréal. Their home stadium was Jarry Park, in Montréal. The Expos suffered through 10 straight losing seasons under their first manager, Gene MauchGene William Mauch (born November 18, 1925 in Salina, Kansas) is an American former Major League Baseball player and manager, and the holder of the record for most seasons managed without a pennant (breaking the record formerly held by Jimmy Dykes). He ma ( 1969- 1975) and three other managers. In 1979 they posted their first winning record with a 95-65 record, under manager Dick Williams . They would post five consecutive winning seasons, including their only division championship, in the split season of 1981. They defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in the divisional series, but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in the National League Championship Series. Montréal was led through these years by a core group of young players, including catcher Gary Carter, outfielders Tim Raines and Andre Dawson, third baseman Larry Parrish and pitchers Steve Rogers and Bill Gullickson .
The Expos had several mediocre years in the mid 1980s under manager Buck Rodgers , but rebuilt and under manager Felipe Alou, who took the position midway through the 1992 season, finished second in the National League East in both 1992 and 1993. 1994 proved to be heart-breaking for the Expos. With a very talented group of players, including outfielders Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Marquis Grissomand pitchers Ken Hill , John Wetteland and a young Pedro Martinez, the Expos had the best record in major league baseball, 74-40 when the strike forced the end of the season.
The Expos lost most of their star players through free agency and trades, and have posted losing records since 1994, except for a second place finish in 1996.
Montréal was often cited as an example of a small-market team, unable to compete with teams in bigger markets such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and therfore no longer a viable competitor. Jeffrey Loria , the last owner prior to the team's purchase by Major League Baseball, made some personnel moves, however the future of the franchise in Montréal never appeared strong. Attendance in the 2001 season was usually fewer than 10,000 people. On November 7, 2001, Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig announced that major league baseball would undergo a contraction of two teams, after a 28-2 vote by the owners. Montréal was one of the dissenting franchises.
On February 14, 2002, after a 30-0 vote, Major League Baseball formed a Delaware partnership (Expos Baseball, LP) to buy the Expos for US $120,000,000 with the intent of eliminating the franchise along with the Minnesota Twins. Following legal maneuvers that prevented the Twins from being shuttered, followed by a collective bargaining agreement between MLB and its players association which prohibited "contraction" through 2006, the team survived. Major League Baseball named Frank Robinson manager and Omar Minaya as vice-president and general manager.
In 2003, the team played 22 of its home games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, despite having the highest percentage attendance increase in 2002 to go with a second place finish in the National League East. Despite being a considerably smaller facility (it seats approximately 19,000) than Montréal's Olympic Stadium, Bithorn regularly outdrew the attendance in Montréal. Thanks in large part to the San Juan games, the Expos were able to draw over a million fans at home in 2003 for the first time since 1998.
The players' union initially rejected continuing that arrangement for the 2004 season, but later relented. Meanwhile, the league actively looked for a relocation site. Some of the choices included Washington D.C., San Juan, Monterrey, Mexico, Portland, Oregon, Northern Virginia, and Norfolk, Virginia. In the decision-making process, Selig added Las Vegas, Nevada to the list of potential Expos homes.
On September 29, 2004, MLB officially announced that the Expos would move to Washington D.C. in 2005. The move is pending approval by the owners of the other teams (considered a formality) and approval of financing for a new stadium. In addition, on November 15, 2004, a lawsuit by the former team owners against Major League Baseball and the former majority owner, Jeffrey Loria, was struck down by arbitrators, which will, in all likelihood, end the Montréal Expos tenure in Montréal.
The team is slated play at RFK Stadium in Washington, with a new $435 million stadium planned. A later estimate placed the price tag at $600 million instead, prompting the chair of the District of Columbia Council on November 5, 2004 to propose a different site.
If the move to Washington, DC is successful, the team's name will be changed to Washington Nationals. There was a suggestion to name the team the Washington Grays, in honor of the former Negro Leagues team, the Homestead Grays, who played some of their home games in Washington despite being based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There was also support for naming the team Washington Senators.
The league must also decide who will be allowed to purchase the franchise. The frontrunners are a group called the Washington Baseball Club, and the speculative cost is between $200 and $300 million dollars.
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