Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals (colloquially known as the Nats) 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 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 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 other MLB team would move until the 2025 season, when the Oakland Athletics relocated to West Sacramento in advance of their ultimately planned move to the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

While the team initially struggled after moving to Washington, the Nationals enjoyed considerable success throughout 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 and won the National League East again in , , and , 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 the Houston Astros in seven games to earn their first championship.

As of the end of the season, the franchise's overall win–loss record is (). Since moving to Washington, D.C., their overall win–loss record is ()

Background

Early baseball in Washington, D.C.

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 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.

Washington Senators / Statesmen / Nationals

thumb|upright=1.1|President [[Richard Nixon at the Washington Senators' opening game with the New York Yankees at RFK Stadium, 1969]]

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 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 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.

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were part of the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion, which included 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 saw poor on-field results through their lifetime leading into the 1990s, never winning their division except in the second half of the strike-split 1981 season. Bronfman sold the team to a consortium of owners in 1991, with Claude Brochu as the managing general partner. In 1994, the Expos, led by a talented group of players including Larry Walker, Moisés Alou, Marquis Grissom and Pedro Martínez, had 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 the 2000 season, reducing the team's media coverage.

Proposed 2001 contraction

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, 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. By that time, the Expos had become the Washington Nationals and the Twins had made sufficient progress towards the eventual building of a new baseball-specific stadium that contraction was no longer on the agenda.

History

Move to DC (2004–2005)

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 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 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 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 home games in Washington's Griffith Stadium during much of 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 team would begin their tenure in DC at RFK Stadium, while planning a move to a new, purpose built stadium which was under construction.

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 the Nationals was Virginia native and University of Virginia graduate 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.

Early struggles (2006–2010)

thumb|right|Nationals versus the [[Cincinnati Reds in 2009 at Nationals Park]]

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 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 the Vice President of Baseball Operations, second in charge under then-general manager Jim Bowden. Rizzo would take over as the National's general manager in 2009.

The Nationals finished in last place in four out of five years from 2006 to 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, one of the most anticipated prospects in baseball history, struck out 14 batters in his 2010 Major League debut at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Winning years and playoff stumbles (2011–2018)

In 2011, the Nationals 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 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 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 the NL MVP unanimously. Despite strong individual showings, the Nationals missed the playoffs, 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 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 the playoffs. After the 2018 season, superstar slugger Bryce Harper left the team via free agency, signing with the rival Philadelphia Phillies.

World Series win (2019)

thumb|upright=1.05|[[2019 World Series victory parade]]

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 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 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.

Post–World Series decline (2020–2025)

Franchise cornerstone Anthony Rendon left in free agency for 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; 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, 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 sent 23-year-old superstar Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres in a blockbuster trade 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, 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.

In 2022, The Washington Post reported that the Lerner family was exploring a restructuring of the team's ownership, including the possibility of selling the team outright. Ted Lerner died prior to the 2023 season 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 would begin to bounce back after 2022, 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 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. On July 6, 2025, following a disappointing first half of the 2025 season below internal projections for the rebuild, the Nationals fired manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo, who had served as general manager since 2009 and as president of baseball operations since 2013. Miguel Cairo and Mike DeBartolo were named as interim manager and interim general manager, respectively. The Nationals finished the 2025 season with a disappointing 66–96 record.

Under new management (2026–present)

In September 2025, the Nationals hired former Boston Red Sox senior vice president and assistant general manager Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations. Toboni subsequently led organization-wide staff changes focused on strengthening scouting, player development, and analytics to revitalize the rebuild. On October 31, 2025, the team announced that it had hired Blake Butera as its next manager.

Under Toboni and Butera, the Nationals embarked on an aggressive overhaul of the organization at virtually every level. Butera, already MLB's youngest manager in over half a century at age 33, Stating at his introductory press conference that he would not prioritize MLB experience, Butera hired many of his new coaches from backgrounds in player development, including coaches from performance labs such as Driveline Baseball and collegiate programs, as well as minor league managers. Similarly, Toboni filled out his front office principally with fellow executives in their 30s and 40s, creating MLB's youngest front office. and hiring Anirudh Kilambi as general manager and Toboni's second-in-command, thereby separating the positions of Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager for the first time in over a decade, after Mike Rizzo had held both titles from 2013 to 2025. The player development hierarchy also saw significant changes, with upper- and lower-level coordinators hired under directors to align Washington's developmental approach.

Uniforms

2005–2008: Original uniforms

The Nationals' original home uniforms contained the team name and numbers in red with gold bevels and navy trim, and were paired with 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 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. In 2020, a white version was added, with 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 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 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 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 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.

Ahead of the 2025 season, the Nationals brought back the red alternate uniform after a one-season absence. This iteration kept the "Curly W" logo on the left chest, but the piping was removed. Due to Nike's "4+1" uniform rule, the team retired the "Capitol W" white alternates after only one season.

City Connect uniform

As part of MLB's uniform deal with Nike, selected teams were given themed "City Connect" uniforms. The Nationals' version, unveiled in 2022, paid homage to the cherry blossoms that adorn Washington, D.C., in the spring. The design had 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 uniforms were retired.

Their second "City Connect" uniform was unveiled in 2025. The uniform is light blue featuring a white outline of Washington, D.C.'s street grid and an interlocking "DC" on the chest which is meant to resemble the block "W" worn by the 1956 Washington Senators. The cap and shoulder patch features the block "W" with an outline of the United States Capitol dome, as well as two cherry blossoms.

Stars and Stripes alternates

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 was added to the left sleeve, and a navy cap with red brim containing the aforementioned "DC flag" logo was used.

!rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; ;"|Division

|2008

|NL

|East

|5th

|59

|102

|32½

|—

|2009

|NL

|East

|5th

|59

|103

|34

|—

|Ryan Zimmerman—Gold Glove and Silver Slugger

|2010

|NL

|East

|5th

|69

|93

|28

|—

|Ryan Zimmerman—Silver Slugger

|2011

|NL

|East

|3rd

|80

|81

|21½

|—

|2012

|NL

|East

|1st

|98

|64

|—

|Won NL East Division by 4 games; Lost NLDS 3–2 vs. Cardinals

|Adam LaRoche—Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Ian Desmond—Silver Slugger Stephen Strasburg—Silver Slugger Bryce Harper—National League Rookie of the Year Davey Johnson—National League Manager of the Year

|2013

|NL

|East

|2nd

|86

|76

|10

|—

|Ian Desmond—Silver Slugger

|2014

||2014

|NL

|East

|1st

|96

|66

|—

|Won NL East Division by 17 games; Lost NLDS 3–1 vs. Giants

|Ian Desmond—Silver Slugger Anthony Rendon—Silver Slugger Wilson Ramos—Tony Conigliaro Award Matt Williams—National League Manager of the Year

|2015

||2015

|NL

|East

|2nd

|83

|79

|—

|Bryce Harper—National League Most Valuable Player, Silver Slugger, Hank Aaron Award, Players Choice Award National League Outstanding Player, Esurance MLB Awards for Best Major Leaguer and Best Everyday Player

|2016

||2016

|NL

|East

|1st

|95

|67

|—

|Won NL East Division by 8 games; Lost NLDS 3–2 vs. Dodgers

||Daniel Murphy—Silver Slugger and Players Choice Award National League Outstanding Player Wilson Ramos—Silver Slugger Max Scherzer— National League Cy Young Award, Esurance MLB Awards for Best Pitcher and Best Performance Anthony Rendon—National League Comeback Player of the Year

|2017

||2017

|NL

|East

|1st

|97

|65

|—

|Won NL East Division by 20 games; Lost NLDS 3–2 vs. Cubs

||Daniel Murphy—Silver Slugger Max Scherzer—National League Cy Young Award, Players Choice Award National League Outstanding Pitcher Ryan Zimmerman—Players Choice Award National League Comeback Player

|2018

||2018

|NL

|East

|2nd

|82

|80

|—

|2019

||2019

|NL

|East

|2nd

|93

|69

|Won NLWCG 4–3 vs. Brewers; Won NLDS 3–2 vs. Dodgers; Won NLCS 4–0 vs. Cardinals; Won World Series 4–3 vs. Astros

||Howie Kendrick—National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award Anthony Rendon—Silver Slugger and All-MLB 1st Team Max Scherzer—All-MLB 1st Team Juan Soto—All-MLB 2nd Team Stephen Strasburg—All-MLB 1st Team and World Series Most Valuable Player Award

|2020

||2020

|NL

|East

|4th

|26

|34

|—

|Juan Soto—All-MLB 1st Team, Silver Slugger and Batting Title

|2021

||2021

|NL

|East

|5th

|65

|97

|23.5

|—

|Juan Soto—All-MLB 1st Team and Silver Slugger

|2022

||2022

|NL

|East

|5th

|55

|107

|46

|—

|2023

||2023

|NL

|East

|5th

|71

|91

|33

|—

|2024

||2024

|NL

|East

|4th

|71

|91

|24

|—

|2025

||2025

|NL

|East

|5th

|66

|96

|30

|—

|}Bold denotes a playoff season, pennant, or championship; italics denote an active season.

Postseason appearances

{| class="wikitable"

!style=";"|Year

!colspan=2 style=";"|Wild Card Game

!colspan=2 style=";"|NLDS

!colspan=2 style=";"|NLCS

!colspan=2 style=";"|World Series

|align=center|1981

|colspan=2

|Philadelphia Phillies

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|colspan=2|

|align=center|2012

|colspan=2 (Won NL East)

|St. Louis Cardinals

|colspan=6|

|align=center|2014

|colspan=2 (Won NL East)

|San Francisco Giants

|colspan=6|

|align=center|2016

|colspan=2 (Won NL East)

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|colspan=6|

|align=center|2017

|colspan=2 (Won NL East)

|Chicago Cubs

|colspan=6|

|align=center|2019

|Milwaukee Brewers

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|St. Louis Cardinals

|Houston Astros

</ol>

Players and personnel

Roster

Managers

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Wins!!Losses!!Win %!!Best finish!!Appearances!!Wins!!Losses!!Win %!!Wild Card record!!Series record!!Wins!!Losses!!Win %

|Frank Robinson||2005–2006||152||172|| || (2005) ||—||—||—||—||—||—||152||172||

|Manny Acta||2007–2009||158||252|| || 73–89, 4th (2007) ||—||—||—||—||—||—||158||252||

|Jim Riggleman||2009–2011||140||172|| || 69–93, 5th (2010) ||—||—||—||—||—||—||140||172||

|John McLaren (interim)||2011||2||1|| || — Randy Johnson

| List 1.3 = Pedro Martínez Tony Pérez

| List 1.4 = Tim Raines * Lee Smith

| List 1.5 = Larry Walker Dick Williams *

| Team Name 2 = Washington Nationals

| List 2.1 =

| List 2.2 = Frank Robinson

| List 2.3 =

| List 2.4 = Iván Rodríguez

| List 2.5 =

| Team Name 3 =

| List 3.1 =

| List 3.2 =

| List 3.3 =

| List 3.4 =

| List 3.5 =

| Team Name 4 =

| List 4.1 =

| List 4.2 =

| List 4.3 =

| List 4.4 =

| List 4.5 =

| Footnote1 = * Montreal Expos or Washington Nationals listed as primary team according to the Hall of Fame

| Footnote2 =

| Footnote3 =

| Footnote4 =

Ford C. Frick Award

Retired numbers

{| class="wikitable" border="3px" style="font-style:bold; font-size:120%"

|- style="text-align:center; background:#0c2d83;"

|95px Ryan Zimmerman 3B/1B Retired 2022

|95px Jackie Robinson 2B Retired 1997

During the franchise's period in Montreal, the Montreal Expos retired three numbers in honor of four players, plus Jackie Robinson's number 42 which was retired throughout all Major League Baseball in 1997. Following the move to Washington, D.C., the numbers (except 42) were returned to circulation and remain in use .

After the Expos' departure from Montreal, the National Hockey League′s Montreal Canadiens hung a banner in Bell Centre honoring the Expos' retired numbers.

The Nationals retired Ryan Zimmerman's No. 11 on June 18, 2022, the first number retired by the Nationals.

Ring of Honor

On August 10, 2010, the Nationals unveiled a "Ring of Honor" at Nationals Park to honor National Baseball Hall of Fame members who had played "significant years" for the Washington Nationals, original Washington Senators (1901–1960), expansion Washington Senators (1961–1971), Homestead Grays, or Montreal Expos. While the Ring of Honor inducted a handful of Grays, they have only inducted one class (forgetting Smokey Joe Williams, a fellow Hall of Famer who played for the Grays) in 2010, not inducting any further Gray since. In late August 2016, the team dropped the criterion that an inductee be a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, also opening membership to "anyone who has made a significant contribution to the game of baseball in Washington, D.C."; 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, and the closest baseball he played in the market was one game for Baltimore with his son at the end of 2001. 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,

In a ceremony held at Nationals Park between games of a doubleheader on the evening of September 8, 2018, the Nationals inducted former outfielder Jayson Werth, who played for the Nationals from 2011 through 2017, into the Ring of Honor. He became the first "true" National

The Ring of Honor includes:

thumb|upright|[[Josh Gibson, catcher]]

thumb|upright|[[Walter Johnson, starting pitcher]]

thumb|upright|[[Sam Rice, outfielder]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! style="" colspan=5|Washington Nationals Ring of Honor

! style=";" colspan=5|Homestead Grays

! style=";"|No.

! style=";"|Inductee

! style=";"|Position

! style=";"|Tenure

! style=";"|Admitted

| 4 || Cool Papa Bell || CF || 1932, 1943–1946 || August 10, 2010

| — || Ray Brown || P || 1932–1945 1947–1948 || August 10, 2010

| 20 || Josh Gibson || C || 1937–1946 || August 10, 2010

| 32 || Buck Leonard || 1B || 1934–1950 || August 10, 2010

| — || Cumberland Posey || OF/Manager/Owner/ || 1911–1946 || August 10, 2010

| — || Jud Wilson || 3B || 1931–1932 1940–1945 || August 10, 2010

! style="" colspan=5|Montreal Expos

! style=""|No.

! style=""|Inductee

! style=""|Position

! style=""|Tenure

! style=""|Admitted

| 8 || Gary Carter || C || 1974–1984, 1992 || August 10, 2010

| 10 || Andre Dawson || CF || 1976–1986 || August 10, 2010

| 30 || Tim Raines || LF || 1979–1990, 2001 || August 28, 2017

| 20 || Frank Robinson || Manager || 2002–2004 || May 9, 2015

! style="" colspan=5|Washington Nationals

! style=""|No.

! style=""|Inductee

! style=""|Position

! style=""|Tenure

! style=""|Admitted

| 20 || Frank Robinson || Manager || 2005–2006 || May 9, 2015

| 7 || Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez || C || 2010–2011 || August 28, 2017

| 28 || Jayson Werth || RF/LF || 2011–2017 ||

| 11 || Ryan Zimmerman || 3B/1B || 2005–2019, 2021 || June 18, 2022

| — || Ted Lerner || Owner || 2006–2023 || March 30, 2023

| — || || Entire team || 2005 || April 5, 2025

! style=";" colspan=5|Washington Senators (original team, 1901–1960)

! style=";"|No.

! style=";"|Inductee

! style=";"|Position

! style=";"|Tenure

! style=";"|Admitted

| 4 || Joe Cronin || SS || 1928–1934 || August 10, 2010

| 8, 10, 37 || Rick Ferrell || C || 1937–1941 1944–1945, 1947 || August 10, 2010

| 3, 5, 20 || Goose Goslin || LF || 1921–1930 1933, 1938 || August 10, 2010

| — || Clark Griffith || P/Owner || P: 1912–1914 Owner: 1920–1955 || August 10, 2010

| 28, 30, 35, 50 || Bucky Harris || 2B/Manager || 2B: 1919–1928  Manager: 1924–1928, 1935–1942, 1950–1954 || August 10, 2010

| — || Walter Johnson || P || 1907–1927 || August 10, 2010

| 3, 12, 25 || Harmon Killebrew || 1B || 1954–1960 || August 10, 2010

| 2, 3 ||Heinie Manush || LF || 1930–1935 || August 10, 2010

| 2, 22 || Sam Rice || RF || 1915–1933 || August 10, 2010

| 11, 20, 26, 44 || Early Wynn || P || 1939–1944 1946–1948 || August 10, 2010

! style=";" colspan=5|Washington Senators (expansion team, 1961–1971)

! style=";"|No.

! style=";"|Inductee

! style=";"|Position

! style=";"|Tenure

! style=";"|Admitted

| — || Bucky Harris || Scout/Special Assistant || 1963–1971 || August 10, 2010

| 9, 33 || Frank Howard || LF/1B || 1965–1971 || August 26, 2016

Attendance

thumb|[[RFK Stadium]]

Source:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! style="text-align:center; ;"|Season

! style="text-align:center; ;"|Stadium

! style="text-align:center; ;"|Season Total

! style="text-align:center; ;"|Rank in National League

! style="text-align:center; ;"|Game Average

|2005

|rowspan=3|RFK Stadium

|2,731,993

|8th (of 16)

|33,651

|2006

|2,153,056

|11th (of 16)

|26,582

|2007

|1,943,812

|14th (of 16)

|24,217

|2008

|rowspan=18|Nationals Park

|2,320,400

|13th (of 16)

|29,005

|2009

|1,817,226

|13th (of 16)

|22,716

|2010

|1,828,066

|14th (of 16)

|22,569

|2011

|1,940,478

|14th (of 16)

|24,256

|2012

|2,370,794

|9th (of 16)

|30,010

|2013

|2,652,422

|6th (of 15)

|32,746

|2014

|2,579,389

|7th (of 15)

|31,844

|2015

|2,619,843

|5th (of 15)

|32,344

|2016

|2,481,938

|7th (of 15)

|30,641

|2017

|2,524,980

|7th (of 15)

|31,172

|2018

|2,529,604

|8th (of 15)

|31,230

|2019

|2,259,781

|12th (of 15)

|27,899

|2020

|NA

|2021

|1,465,543