In mlb.com's Bill Ladson's recent, "Mailbag: Who is Opening Day starter?" column at washington.nationals.mlb.com, a Washington Nationals fan from Florida wrote in to ask Mr. Ladson:
"Do you realize that Washington fans don't care about
Andre Dawson and Tim Raines? They never played for the
Washington Nationals. You'll never see their names on the
Washington "Ring of Fame."
Mr. Ladson replied:
"Yes, I realize that Dawson and Raines never played in
Washington, but the Nationals came from Montreal, so it's
fitting that these players are featured on the Nationals
site."
This isn't the first time that disdain for the franchise's Montreal past has been voiced amongst the DC baseball fans at washington.nationals.mlb.com and here at federalbaseball.com. In fact, 7 of the 23 votes cast in response to a poll regarding the Hall of Fame voting on Dawson and Raines chose the option, "Don't Care About Montreal Players," instead of voting in support of, or to deny, either player entry into the Hall of Fame.
Which has me wondering...
Did any DC fans become Minnesota Twins fans the first time the Senators left? How about the second time, when the Senators became the Texas Rangers? I know a few Montreal fans remain from the 1,500 strong or so I used to see at the Stade Olympique who are still wearing Expos caps at Nationals' games leaguewide and in DC. Should these fans, who have become Nationals' fans, be deprived of the history with which they've grown up?
The Nationals themselves have made no attempt to recognize the franchise's days in Montreal, while fully embracing DC's baseball history. If Washington doesn't recognize the "Montreal years" of the franchise, will the Expos' players and their accomplishments be relegated solely to the record books?
But the most important question...Why all the hate for Montreal, Quebec, Canada?
*DC Hates The QC Links*
mlb.com's Bill Ladson's article, "Mailbag: Who is Opening Day starter?", at washington.nationals.mlb.com: