Should Nats Fans Care About Team's History?
Recently a Nationals fan wrote to Bill Ladson, the team’s beat writer at mlb.com, complaining that a banner headline on the team web site featured former Expo Andre Dawson. The history-challenged fan noted that “like most Washington fans, I never followed the Expos and thought at first that he was some new acquisition for the Nats. How long will we be burdened with Expos history, which is irrelevant to today's Nats and their fans?”
When Ladson ran the e-mail in his weekly “Mailbag” column, it set off a rash of responses covering both sides of the issue. Some writers couldn’t understand abandoning a tradition that included Dawson, Rusty Staub, Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero. Others saw no relevance in what happened before the move to Washington. One fan wasn’t interested in the Montreal years, but didn’t entirely turn his back on history. “I really do cringe every time a former Expo is featured on the site or mentioned by the broadcasters,” he wrote, “because I know there are plenty of Senators records and tales of old that are being ignored.”
That fan of the old Senators should understand the notion of recognizing the history of an abandoned city. There are a number of baseball franchises with a history shared by two cities. Washington figured on the front end of two of those relocations. The original Senators moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. The Washington franchise that was established to replace the old one in 1961 picked up and moved to Texas after 11 seasons.
A number of franchise-loyal Canadians wrote to Ladson and said they embraced the franchise history of both cities and still root for the Nationals. A writer from Virginia, however, may have said it best:
“Please ask the fans who are whining about the Expos to give it a rest. Washington fans, of all people, should be sensitive to what it means to have all evidence of your team's former existence washed away.”
Comments
It's hard to believe that more than a minor segment of Nationals fans could be against celebrating the history their team while it was in Montreal.
Posted by: Walter Lis | January 29, 2007 4:54 PM
I suppose many Nats fans believe that history doesn't belong to them. If there was a history of postseason success, maybe they would embrace it. The Expos didn't give Montreal much in terms of team success to celebrate, let alone Washington, but guys like Dawson, Staub, Martinez and Guerrero have been extremely productive Expos. Three of those four could end up in the Hall of Fame. It will be interesting to see if their Hall inductions generate much interest in Washington.
Posted by: TH | January 29, 2007 8:54 PM
Staub? No, he'll never make it. And Dawson, Martinez, and Guerrero are more identified with other teams.
Maybe that's why the franchise is in Washington, because they never had a signature franchise Hall of Famer like Robin Yount, George Brett, Kirby Puckett, or Tony Gwynn in Montreal.
Nobody in Wisconsin cares about the 1969 Seattle Pilots. Very few care about the 2003 Milwaukee Brewers. Did Twins fans in the 1960s celebrate Walter Johnson or Joe Cronin? I'd be happy if present-day Washington fans identify with the Senators teams.
Posted by: Ron T. | January 30, 2007 9:04 PM
I'm not sure if these qualify as the signature franchise Hall of Famers that people are looking for but does Larry Walker, Randy Johnson, or Tim Raines count with Montreal?
Posted by: Mark | January 31, 2007 10:56 AM
I would say no, Mark. Yount, Brett, Puckett and Gwynn all played for only one major league team, and all had 3000 hits. Walker, Johnson, and Raines all spent large parts of their careers with other teams and neither Walker nor Raines had 3,000 hits. Johnson's a lock, but he pitched only 56 innings for the Expos.
Posted by: Ron T. | January 31, 2007 4:55 PM
I'm not sure a signature Hall of Famer in Montreal would even matter in Washington. Ron made the point that it's unlikely that 1960s Twins fans celebrated Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, who won 417 games in 21 seasons with the old Senators. He's right about that. It's true that Johnson had been retired for 34 years when the franchise left Washington for Minnesota, so the passage of time plays a role there. But I have my doubts Andre Dawson would mean much to Washington fans even if he had played his whole career in Montreal and had been elected to the Hall. After thinking about this topic and the comments here, I suspect Johnson would mean more to Washington baseball fans with a sense of history than Dawson!
Posted by: TH | February 1, 2007 6:52 PM
If Raines gets into the Hall - he certainly should, but it's unclear how the writers will view the second greatest leadoff hitter of all time - he certainly goes in as an Expos or with no team at all.
Johnson's not going in as an Expo; I assume he'll go in as a Mariner, though I guess going in as a Diamondback is possible. Walker would go in as a Rockie
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