The Montreal Expos Were Destined to Become a Different MLB Franchise

What happens beyond the baseball field is almost as interesting as the sport itself. Some narratives captivate the imagination of the audience further than what any single game can accomplish, expanding on the legacy of the MLB with ease.

Such is the case of the Montreal Expos. The Canadian team was the pride and joy of the city at one point, setting a decent attendance record while pursuing a championship. Sadly, not every sports story can have a happy ending.

Recent fans of Major League Baseball may have noticed that the Montreal Expos are not currently active. The franchise used to have a large presence in the Great White North, but that chapter has come to an end.

What happened to the Montreal Expos? Here's what we know about the fate of the team that built names such as Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Tim Raines. It all comes down to the business aspect of the MLB and how it can force rough decisions on the teams that comprise the league.

According to the MLB's official website, the Montreal Expos became the team known as the Washington Nationals. The change is the result of a long process that led the franchise to disappear, leaving Canadian fans disappointed about the fact that their star players were moving away.

It can be hard to understand why such a successful endeavor was forced to be removed from its home, leaving its fans without a team and its players looking for work across the rest of the league.

To dive deep into why the Montreal Expos eventually became the Washington Nationals, it is important to take into account that the Canadian team only won its respective division one time. As if that wasn't alarming enough, the victory arrived around a major player strike that shook the entire league (via MLB).

Any MLB team needs good results to justify its existence over a prolonged period of time. The Montreal Expos weren't talented enough to earn enough profits to stay in Canada.

It is rare for a professional sports team to disappear overnight. One of the biggest factors that caused the Montreal Expo's doom was the removal of its biggest players. Claude Brochu eventually sold the control of the team to Jeffrey Loria in 1999, a few years before the relocation became effective.

The MLB's official website states that the relocation proposal was approved in 2004, meaning that the Expos would leave Canada for the 2005 season.

The Washington Nationals continue to entertain MLB fans two decades after they made their regular season debut in Philadelphia, PA. Three decades of passion for baseball in Canada were stitched into the history of the sport when the relocation became official.

MLB action is alive in Canada thanks to the presence of the Toronto Blue Jays. The athletes won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and in 1993, and they continue to fight for glory every season.