The forefathers of the Washington Nationals started and ended their existence against the Mets. Maury Wills struck out against Tom Seaver on April 8, 1969, and Endy Chavez grounded out against Bartolome Fortunato on Oct. 3, 2004. Those events, both at Shea Stadium, were the bookends of the Montreal Expos.
The Nationals only whisper their affiliation with the Expos. Two small Montreal logos accompany the names of Gary Carter and Andre Dawson in a ring of honor at Nationals Park, but otherwise the team aligns itself with older clubs that played in Washington. Rivalries do not spring easily from such limited and fractured history.