In 1974, MLB returned to Washington when the 5-year old Padres left San Diego. Joe Danzansky, President of Giant Foods, purchased the team along with a group of partners in Dec. 1973. A court attorney from SD tried to make Danzansky pay the remainder of the stadium lease(it was to run until 1988). The bankers that were going to finance Joe's deal were all set to pull out, but MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn stepped in and worked out a deal. He asked SD to let them out of the lease if MLB agreed to expand to SD by 1980. Both sides agreed, and MLB expansion was announced.
There turned out to be two expansions. In 1977, MLB expanded to Seattle(Mariners, AL), and San Diego(Conquistadors, NL). Then, in 1980, Toronto(Blue Jays, AL) and Denver(Bears, NL) joined the fray. They awarded Denver a team after they failed to get the A's in 1978.
As for the Washington team, they were re-named the Ambassadors because they felt that the Senator name was jinxed. They still struggled on the field until the late-70's, when Ozzie Smith arrived. Led by Smith and Dave Winfield, as well as Gaylord Perry and Rollie Fingers, they were a solid contender through most of the early-80's, and went to the WS in 1983, losing to Baltimore in what was considered the "Beltway Battle". That was the impetus for their new stadium, which opened in 1986. They went down by the mid-late 80's as stars left and retired, but then GM Syd Thrift started to re-build them, drafting guys like Mo Vaughn and Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones, and by the mid-90's, they had a contending team again. They went to a WS by 1998, but lost to the Yankees.
But what if the Padres had stayed in SD? What if Kuhn hadn't stepped in with that deal?
There turned out to be two expansions. In 1977, MLB expanded to Seattle(Mariners, AL), and San Diego(Conquistadors, NL). Then, in 1980, Toronto(Blue Jays, AL) and Denver(Bears, NL) joined the fray. They awarded Denver a team after they failed to get the A's in 1978.
As for the Washington team, they were re-named the Ambassadors because they felt that the Senator name was jinxed. They still struggled on the field until the late-70's, when Ozzie Smith arrived. Led by Smith and Dave Winfield, as well as Gaylord Perry and Rollie Fingers, they were a solid contender through most of the early-80's, and went to the WS in 1983, losing to Baltimore in what was considered the "Beltway Battle". That was the impetus for their new stadium, which opened in 1986. They went down by the mid-late 80's as stars left and retired, but then GM Syd Thrift started to re-build them, drafting guys like Mo Vaughn and Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones, and by the mid-90's, they had a contending team again. They went to a WS by 1998, but lost to the Yankees.
But what if the Padres had stayed in SD? What if Kuhn hadn't stepped in with that deal?