Washington Nationals

Washington has larger and whiter suburbs than it did in the 60s, so some analysts believe this will be a less important factor than in the past. Do not blink or else you will miss a cute bit where a male student leaves an apple for Professor Indiana Jones among the crowd of adoring female students. Some analysts [2] (http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3844360) have pointed out that Washington is primarily an African-American city (59%), but that African-Americans generally support baseball less than whites. Past Washington Senators teams have blamed poor attendance partially on lack of attendance by African-Americans. However, the restored prints of the film that are transferred to video do not change the onscreen title from its original. Major League Baseball does not express such doubts, and proponents of the move argue that the failure of previous franchises has more to do with poor business decisions and financial management on the part of their owners than with any lack of popular support in the region itself. Newer video boxes of the movie (VHS and DVD) are titled Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, in order to correlate with its sequels. Due to the past history of Washington franchises (See Washington Senators), there are doubts about whether Washington will actually be a better market for a pro baseball team than Montréal long term. In 1999 the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Mayor Williams signed the stadium financing package on December 30. It won numerous other awards including seven Saturn Awards. Despite this, the council passed an amended plan on December 21, 2004, that proved slightly more financially favorable to the city, while remaining acceptable to MLB. Raiders of the Lost Ark was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1982 and won four (Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration). When the council voted on December 14 to require 50 percent private financing for any new stadium, MLB ceased promotional activities for the Nationals and announced that they would consider looking for a new market. The Indiana Jones franchise eventually expanded to books, games, a television series, and even theme park attractions. (See Indiana Jones for more information.). City Council sought to change details of the financing for a new stadium MLB sought for the Nationals (see following section on "The Ballpark Controversy"). A fourth, as yet titleless, movie is apparently in preproduction for 2006.

During December 2004, the move to Washington itself was called into question when the D.C. The box office success of the film led to a prequel — Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and a sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). [1] (http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3930510). The film was a huge success, becoming the year's highest grossing film. Some controversy arises over the fact that the city is helping finance a $581 million dollar stadium without state or county support, despite the fact that a large portion of the fan base, if it materializes, will be drawn from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Since James Bond could not be used, the film team created Indiana Jones, a character who is suave, handsome, and lives a jet-setting life, but has clear flaws (for example, a fear of snakes) and has much more comic attributes. An opinion poll conducted by the Washington Post found that approximately two-thirds of District residents oppose the mayor's stadium plan. Both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg had expressed their interests to make a James Bond film of their own, but to no avail from EoN, the production company which owned the rights to the character.

Three Council members who supported Mayor Anthony Williams's plan were ousted in September's Democratic party primary. It should also be noted that the character of Indiana Jones was directly influenced by James Bond. The ballpark proposal is controversial; many city residents oppose government subsidies for a multi-billion-dollar private business and would prefer the land and money to focus on schools rather than a ballpark. 'Raiders' was conceived by Paramount Pictures as a star vehicle for Tom Selleck but he was not available due to other commitments so Harrison Ford was cast instead. City Council. A new screenplay was commissioned from Lawrence Kasdan. The team's relocation to Washington had been contingent on a financing plan for the Nationals' stadium — a plan that had been the subject of much debate on the D.C. At the time Spielberg's career was suffering due to the expensive bomb 1941 so it was agreed that Lucas would produce and Spielberg direct.

Under the terms of the deal, television and radio broadcast rights to Nationals games are been handled by the Orioles franchise, who formed a new network (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network) to produce and distribute the games for both franchises on both local affiliates and cable/satellite systems. While on holiday with his close friend Steven Spielberg the pair worked out the basis for the film. On March 31, 2005, a deal was struck between Peter Angelos and Major League Baseball in order to protect the Orioles against any financial harm the Nationals might present to the Orioles' market (Washington is approximately 35 miles south of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Orioles have played their home games since 1992). Lucas had conceived of the idea in discussion with Philip Kaufman who had worked on a treatment. Louis Browns, to move to Baltimore in 1953). It was also limited in its ambitions as it was made in only 73 days, the plot is rather straightforward, and there are only a few principal characters. Obtaining the Orioles' cooperation was essential: the Baltimore and Washington regions had always been considered part of the same market, one which the Orioles' had had exclusive control over since 1972 (the original Washington Senators had waived their exclusivity rights to the region to allow the Orioles, then the St. By contrast Raiders of the Lost Ark is comic book-like in tone, with a glamorous heroine, over-the-top villains, and impressive stunt work combined with moments of comedy.

From 1972 to 2004, the Orioles were the sole MLB franchise in the Baltimore-Washington metropolis. The early 1970s had been dominated by action films either with a certain gritty realism, such as the Dirty Harry series or that were massive productions with huge casts and elaborate special effects such as The Poseidon Adventure. The move was announced despite opposition from Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Like Star Wars he saw it as an opportunity to create a modern version of the serials of the 1930s and 1940s. The frontrunners are a group called the Washington Baseball Club, and the speculative cost is between $200 and $300 million dollars. George Lucas originally became involved in the project in 1977. The league must also decide who will be allowed to purchase the franchise. Back in Washington D.C., the two Army intelligence representatives tell Indy that "top men" are studying the Ark, and Marion invites the disappointed Indy to a drink, but in dramatic irony the Ark is sealed in a wooden crate and stored in a giant government warehouse filled with countless other similar crates.

In addition, on November 15, 2004, a lawsuit by the former team owners against MLB and former majority owner Jeffrey Loria was struck down by arbitrators, ending legal moves to keep the Expos in Montréal. Indy and Marion are spared because they do not watch the ritual, shutting their eyes, and they escape with the Ark. The move was approved by the owners of the other teams in a 29–1 vote on December 3 (Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos cast the sole dissenting vote). Marion and Indy are tied up and forced to view a ceremony where Belloq opens the Ark in front of a group of German soldiers, but strange and mysterious spirits emerge (perhaps those sinners during the Exodus who disobeyed God's laws?) killing Belloq, Dietrich, Toht, the soldiers, and evaporating their souls into the afterlife. in 2005. Threatening to destroy the Ark with a rocket launcher, Indy is soon convinced by Belloq to surrender, giving in to his own deep desires as an archaeologist to see the Ark's contents. On September 29, 2004, MLB officially announced that the Expos would move to Washington D.C. It docks at a submarine pen on an island in the Aegean Sea, where Indy steals a soldier's uniform.

In the decision-making process, Selig added Las Vegas, Nevada to the list of potential Expos homes. A Nazi U-boat with Belloq and Dietrich stops the ship and takes the Ark and Marion, but Indy covertly follows the sub (either stowing away onboard or, in a deleted scene, holding onto the periscope). Some of the choices included Washington D.C., San Juan, Monterrey, Mexico, Portland, Oregon, Northern Virginia, and Norfolk, Virginia. Retaking the Ark, Indy and Marion depart from a happy Sallah and sail with it on the Bantu Wind a ship bound for England. Meanwhile, the league actively looked for a relocation site. Stealing a horse and charging off at the truck convoy, Indy manages to take the wheel of the truck, throw the passengers off the back, fend off the other support vehicles, and escape, all in a rather dramatic chase scene. The players' union initially rejected continuing the San Juan arrangement for the 2004 season, but later relented. Gas ignites the plane, and Belloq and Dietrich put the Ark on a truck instead.

Some commentators like Peter Gammons have accused MLB of having "a conflict of interest," and of deliberately scuttling the team's chances in order to strengthen the case for relocation. Marion knocks out the pilot and fends off some infantrymen with the plane's coaxial machine gun while Indy (beated to the ground) hides his face when his opponent is torn apart off-camera by a propellor. The Marlins eventually became the World Series' winner in 2003. Attempting to stop the pilot, a large fight breaks out instead between Indy and a big muscular soldier around the spinning propellors of the plane. The decision to deny the franchise any chance to draw from its farm system, however, dashed the Expos' playoff chances. They escape though a weak stone wall and arrive in time to see a Luftwaffe plane being prepared to ship the Ark to Berlin. Up to this point attendance had been increasing. Dietrich and his assistant Gobler, surround the entrace, take the Ark, and leave Indy and Marion to die in the snake-infested pit.

All teams have this right around the end of August. Belloq and the Germans, led by the sadistic Col. The budget was some $35 million dollars. Infiltrating the dig, Indy and Sallah use the headpeice in the map room to then find the Ark deep within the snake-infested Well of Souls. However, MLB decided that it could not afford an extra $50,000 to call-up players from its minor leagues. It appears that the Nazis have misread the headpiece, their staff is too long, and they are thus digging for the Ark in the wrong place in Tanis. Led by Vladimir Guerrero, the Expos launched a spirited battle to lead the Wild Card race over the Florida Marlins. That evening, Sallah takes Indy to an old wiseman who decodes the markings.

Thanks in part to the San Juan games, the Expos were able to draw over a million fans at home in 2003 for the first time since 1998. Fearing that Marion was most likely killed in the blast, Indy in a rage encounters Belloq once more in a Cairo tavern and wishes to kill him despite Belloq's sermon about the Ark's wonders, but Sallah and his children rescue him from the other Egyptian gunmen. Despite being a considerably smaller facility (it seats approximately 19,000) than Montréal's Olympic Stadium, Bithorn regularly outdrew the attendance in Montréal. Nazi operatives grab Marion and throw her in a truck, but the vehicle crashes and explodes when Indy dispatches the driver with his pistol. In 2003, the team played 22 of its home games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, despite having the highest percentage attendance increase in 2002 to go with a second place finish in the National League East. While touring about Cairo's markets, Marion and Indy are chased by hired swordsmen. As a result of this, the Expos survived. Major League Baseball named Frank Robinson manager and Omar Minaya as vice-president and general manager. They fly to Cairo and meet Indy's friend Sallah, a skilled Egyptian digger and archaeologist, to find help in decoding the markings in the headpiece that specify the height of the staff needed to hold the headpiece.

The Minnesota Twins, who were also facing contraction, initiated legal maneuvers that ultimately led to a collective bargaining agreement between MLB and its players association which prohibited "contraction" through 2006. Marion teams up with Indy following a shootout between him and Toht's hired thugs in Marion's tavern. On February 14, 2002, after a 30-0 vote, Major League Baseball formed a Delaware partnership (Expos Baseball, LP) to buy the Expos for $120,000,000 USD with the intent of eliminating the franchise. A Nazi agent named Toht (perhaps Gestapo) who had followed Indy to Marion tries to take the piece from her by provoking her with a hot iron. On November 7, 2001, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball would undergo a contraction of two teams, after a 28-2 vote by the owners (it should be noted that Montreal was one of the two dissenting votes). Indy flies to snowy, mountainous Nepal to speak with Marion Ravenwood, the professor's tough-minded and independent daughter, only to find that her father died and that she's reluctant to part with the headpiece. Attendance in the 2001 season was usually fewer than 10,000 people. According to Ravenwood, the Pharaoh Shishaq stole the Ark from Jerusalem but then buried it in the desert sands of his capital city, Tanis, also the city where the Nazis have begun a massive archaeological dig for the Well of Souls which houses the Ark.

Jeffrey Loria, the last owner prior to the team's purchase by Major League Baseball, made some personnel moves, however the future of the franchise in Montréal never appeared strong. Furthermore, they believe that Ravenwood has the headpiece of the Staff of Ra needed to pinpoint the Ark's resting place. Using a specifically high staff to hold it, the headpiece is a golden disk that uses the sun's rays cast its crystal to then shine a spot on the city model in the map room, of Tanis, an ancient Egyptian city. Montréal was often cited as an example of a small-market team, unable to compete with teams in bigger markets such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and therefore no longer a viable competitor. Indy, a former student of Ravenwood, helps interpret the message as an indication that the Nazis are close to finding the Ark of the Covenant — a golden and jeweled chest constructed under the guidance of God and Moses that housed the remnants of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, a relic that Hitler could use to render his rising army invincible, or at least what the legend implies. However, they continued their losing trend by posting a 67-95 record in 2004 after losing superstar Vladimir Guerrero to free agency during the previous offseason. Ravenwood being under the scrutiny of German intelligence. The Expos lost most of their star players through free agency and trades since the 1994 season and have produced poor records since except for a second place finish in 1996 and a few respectable seasons in 2002 and 2003. The men explain that the US has intercepted a cryptic Nazi message that mentions a Prof.

With a very talented group of players, including outfielders Larry Walker, Moisés Alou and Marquis Grissom and pitchers Ken Hill, John Wetteland and a young Pedro Martínez, the Expos had the best record in major league baseball, 74-40 when the strike forced the cancelation of the remainder of the season. Back at his American college, two US Army intelligence men summon Jones into the auditorium along with Marcus, head of the department and a good friend of Indy. 1994 proved to be heart-breaking for the Expos. Jones manages to flee with his pilot, Jock, in their pontoon plane. The Expos had several mediocre years in the mid 1980s under manager Buck Rodgers, but rebuilt and under manager Felipe Alou, who took the position midway through the 1992 season, finished second in the National League East in both 1992 and 1993. Outside, his French counterpart and nemesis Rene Belloq has actually befriended the natives, who take the idol from Indy and chase him down. They defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in the divisional series, but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in the National League Championship Series. Montréal was led through these years by a core group of young players, including catcher Gary Carter, outfielders Tim Raines and Andre Dawson, third baseman Larry Parrish and pitchers Steve Rogers and Bill Gullickson. In the temple, Jones avoids various traps when retrieving the idol, is duped by another guide, Satipo, who turns on him but is then killed by a trap himself, and manages to escape a giant rolling boulder that chases Jones out of the temple.

They would post five consecutive winning seasons, including their only division championship, in the split season of 1981. With his famous whip, he chases away a guide who attempts to shoot him in the back. In 1979 they posted their first winning record with a 95-65 record, under manager Dick Williams. Set in 1936, the story begins with Indy's journey into the South American jungle with a few local guides to find a hidden temple that houses a golden idol head (perhaps of the Inca civilization?). The Expos suffered through 10 straight losing seasons under their first manager, Gene Mauch (1969-1975) and three other managers. His bête noire is Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman). They were named for Expo 67, a world's fair that was held in Montréal. Their home stadium was to be that fair's Autostade, but that plan was rejected and they settled upon Jarry Park, in Montréal. On his adventure he is accompanied by Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies).

The Montréal Expos joined the National League in 1969, along with the San Diego Padres. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a feature film released by Paramount Pictures in 1981. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it is a fantasy adventure and the first in a series of film and TV productions about the adventures of the heroic fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones, who was played by actor Harrison Ford. Indy is a professor of archaeology and also acquires artifacts for Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), who works for a museum. Main article: Montreal Expos. Producers: Howard Kazanjian, George Lucas, Frank Marshall, Robert Watts. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol building. Anderson, who included the Wilhelm scream in the film. The new stadium will be located in Southeast D.C. Sound effects editor: Richard L.

Kennedy Memorial Stadium until 2007 when a new facility will (tentatively) be completed for their use. Editor: Michael Kahn. The Nationals will play at Robert F. Composer: John Williams. Currently, the Nationals are a member of the National League's Eastern Division. Writing credits: George Lucas (story), Philip Kaufman (story) and Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay). Coincidentally, the last time a MLB team moved to a new city was in 1972, when the previous franchise to operate in the DC area, the Washington Senators, moved to Texas, becoming the Texas Rangers. Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Alfred Molina, and Denholm Elliott.

Prior to this move, the team was known as the Montréal Expos. Direction: Steven Spielberg. from Montréal, Québec, Canada after the completion of the 2004 MLB season. The team relocated to Washington, D.C. The Washington Nationals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Washington, D.C.

Gulf Coast Nationals. Potomac Nationals
Savannah Sand Gnats
Vermont Expos. Harrisburg Senators. New Orleans Zephyrs.

National League
. Pitching saves: John Wetteland, 43 (1993). Pitching ERA: Pedro Martínez, 1.90 (1997). Pitching strikeouts: Pedro Martinez, 305 (1997).

Pitching wins: Ross Grimsley, 20 (1978). Strikeouts: Andrés Galarraga, 169 (1990). Walks: Ken Singleton, 123 (1973). Hitting streak: Vladimir Guerrero, 31 games (2000).

Stolen bases: Ron LeFlore, 97 (1980). Total bases: Vladimir Guerrero, 379 (2000). Extra-Base hits: Vladimir Guerrero, 84 (1999). Triples: Tim Raines, Rodney Scott and Mitch Webster, 13 (1985, 1980 and 1986).

Doubles: Mark Grudzielanek, 54 (1997). Hits: Vladimir Guerrero, 206 (2002). Runs: Tim Raines, 133 (1983). Runs batted in: Vladimir Guerrero, 131 (2000).

Home runs: Vladimir Guerrero, 44 (2000). Batting average: Vladimir Guerrero, 345 (2000). 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball). 30 Tim Raines.

10 Rusty Staub. 10 Andre Dawson.   8 Gary Carter. 33 Jack Voigt (roving).

37 Dave Huppert (third base). 12 Don Buford (first base). 14 Eddie Rodriguez (bench). 16 Bob Natal (bullpen).

17 Tom McCraw (hitting). Claire (pitching). 46 Randy St. Coaches