N a t i o n a l s 5 CONTENTS CHAPTERS A Capital Idea 6 Pushing for the Playoffs 16 Optimism and Frustration 22 Crossing the Border 29 The Plan for the Future 36 AROUND THE HORN Baseball in Washington 12 Hail to the Chief 21 El Perfecto 24 Oh Canada 31 San Juan Expos 38 Teddy’s Winless Streak 43 ALL-TIME NATIONALS P Steve Rogers 8 C Gary Carter 13 1B Andres Galarraga 14 2B Delino Deshields 18 3B Ryan Zimmerman 23 SS Wil Cordero 28 LF Tim Raines 30 CF Andre Dawson 35 RF Vladimir Guerrero 39 M Felipe Alou 40 Index 48
6 N a t i o n a l s A CAPITAL IDEA etween 1776 and 1790 the United States capital circulated among the cities of Philadelphia Baltimore York Princeton Annapolis Trenton and New York Finally in 1790 the U S Congress decided the country needed a permanent capital that was not part of any one state President George Washington a surveyor by trade carved out a diamond-shaped district that included parts of Maryland and Virginia After 10 years of planning and building the new capital was ready for occupancy in 1800 At the suggestion of then president John Adams the city was named Washington in honor of the former president who had died the year before As the U S government grew so did Washington By 1900 it was the country’s 15th-largest city with a population nearing 280,000 So it seemed logical that when professional baseball’s American League AL was formed in 1901 a franchise would be established in Washington Management debated whether to name the team the Senators or the Nationals before settling on Senators That franchise B
Washington D C features numerous distinctive landmarks including the Washington Monument at left and the Lincoln Memorial below
