Major League Baseball, for all its warts, can stake claim to something no other major North American professional sports league can claim: Very few franchise relocations in recent times.

For five decades, in fact, there was only one MLB relocation: the Expos’ move to Washington prior to the 2005 season to become the Nationals. In spite of all of the sport’s other issues, this was a particular point of pride for baseball when comparing itself to the NFL, NBA and NHL.

And then came this week’s news of MLB owners unanimously approving the Athletics’ plan to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas, and all of a sudden an issue that has barely been on baseball’s mind for a half-century is now the predominant story in the sport.

Baseball, of course, experienced plenty of franchise relocations prior to this long run of stability. The 1950s saw the Dodgers and Giants head west, the Braves move from Boston to Milwaukee, the St. Louis Browns become the Baltimore Orioles and the A’s transfer from Philadelphia to Kansas City. The 1960s then saw the original Senators become the Minnesota Twins, while the Braves (Milwaukee to Atlanta) and A’s (Kansas City to Oakland) relocated again. And the early 1970s saw the Seattle Pilots become the Milwaukee Brewers after only one season and the expansion Senators bolt for Texas to be rebranded as the Rangers.

But that’s ancient history at this point. Modern baseball has been defined by the stability of its franchises, and the addition of expansion teams to grow the league to an even 30 organizations. So the Oakland-to-Vegas announcement feels like a really big deal because in this sport it is a really big deal.

Baseball is perhaps only a few days away from an event that hasn't been experienced in 27 years, one the commissioner himself recently said would be "disastrous" for the sport. Major League Baseball has said if it and the MLB Players Association can't agree to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement by Monday, some regular season games will be canceled. Whether that actually proves to be true remains to be seen, because the MLBPA insists the Feb. 28 deadline set forth by commissioner...

He took the mound wearing a double-knit polyester, powder blue Expos uniform and tri-colored cap. His pant legs were short, his royal blue socks pulled up high. Nothing about the image suggested this was Max Scherzer. Until he began pitching, of course. From that point on, anyone in attendance at Nationals Park on Expos Day could easily look past the throwback uniform and recognize the ace right-hander putting together yet another quintessential performance. Picking up right where he left off...

Mike Wallace opened up his closet this morning and instead of grabbing one of his standard-issue Nationals polo shirts instead dug deep to locate one in a different shade of blue. Across the left chest it said "Expos." On the right sleeve was a logo for the 2004 MLB Japan All-Star Series. Wallace hadn't worn the shirt since that day in November 2004 when he became the last person to wear Expos gear in an official capacity. He noted that outfielder Brad Wilkerson, who played for the MLB...

The Carolina Hurricanes wore Hartford Whalers uniforms Sunday for their home game against the Boston Bruins. And if that isn't the strangest lede I've ever written to a blog post about the Nationals, I'm trying to remember something else that would top it. You see, the Hurricanes' throwback night on the ice reminded me of something I've long pondered in my own mind: Would the Nationals ever wear Expos uniforms? And how would fans, both from Washington and Montreal, feel about that? I think...

It's an odd existence this franchise has lived, what with 36 years spent north of the border in Montreal followed by the last 13 years in Washington, but by Major League Baseball's definition the Expos and Nationals count as one franchise. Whether fans in either city want to embrace that definition or not, there's no denying the talent that has worn this franchise's various uniforms, from Andre Dawson to Tim Raines to Gary Carter to Larry Walker to Vladimir Guerrero to Alfonso Soriano to...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Tim Raines has been involved in baseball for more than 40 years, including 15 years now since he last played a game. Wherever he goes, wherever he's introduced, he's greeted warmly and viewed as one of the best players of his generation. But there's been a new wrinkle to the process in the last two months. Or, more accurately, three new words added in front of his name. He's no longer simply "Tim Raines." He's now (and forever) known as "Hall of Famer Tim...

I grew up a Montreal Expos fan. It was a completely different experience following a team from a city outside of your own at that point. No MLB.tv. No MLB Extra Innings or MLB Network. Just newspaper reports the next day, box scores and a few games a year when they played in or against New York. Living in New Jersey, surrounded by Phillies fans on one side, and Yankees and Mets fans on the another, with no team to call our own, there was no way I was cheering for any teams from Philadelphia or...

Nationals fans no longer have to dream of the day their team makes the playoffs. It's a reality. Thursday's night's win over the Dodgers put the city of Washington, D.C., in the baseball postseason for the first time since 1933 and this franchise in the playoffs for the first time in 31 years. The team that moved to Washington to become the Nationals, the Montreal Expos, made its first - and only - National League playoff appearance in 1981. In a year when baseball fans endured a nearly...

Gary Carter's death at 57 from a brain tumor hits home for Nationals manager Davey Johnson, who skippered the New York Mets from 1984-90 and had Carter as his catcher from 1985-89. Carter backstopped the 1986 Mets who went 108-54 and won the only World Series on Johnson's resume. Carter spent the first 12 year of his Hall of Fame career with the Nationals' predecessors, the Montreal Expos. The affable catcher nicknamed "Kid" hit .269 with 220 home runs and 823 RBIs for the Expos and the...

Five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson announced his retirement today. The 46-year old pitcher won his 300th game with the Giants last season and finished with 303 for his career. He is second all-time to Nolan Ryan in career strikeouts. Johnson pitched for the Expos, Mariners, Astros, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Giants in 22 seasons. Looking back on his time with the Expos, it was abbreviated compared to the 22 overall seasons, but he went 3-4 in 11 starts with a 4.69 ERA and 51...