In the nation's capital, baseball has always been about the next big thing — and no symbol captures that better than the curly W on the Washington Nationals jersey. It is the mark of a franchise reborn, a city's 2019 coronation, and now the banner under which the game's most exciting young core is rising. Here is the story behind the threads.
The North Star: The Montreal Expos Years
The family tree begins in 1969, when Major League Baseball expanded into Canada and the Montreal Expos were born — the first MLB franchise outside the United States. From Jarry Park to Olympic Stadium, the Expos wore a distinctly international look: bold script across the chest, powder blue road alternates, and a tricolor identity that stood apart from every other uniform in the league. Hall of Famers like Gary Carter and Andre Dawson, along with Vladimir Guerrero's cannon arm, gave the franchise a personality bigger than its market. For 36 seasons, the Expos were baseball's coolest underdogs — a club that never quite reached the top, but never stopped dreaming.
Rebirth in DC: The Nationals Arrive
In 2005, that dream moved south. The Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., and were reborn as the Nationals — a name that belonged to the city's original franchise, the Washington Nationals of the 1880s, and carried forward the spirit of the 1924 World Series champion Washington Senators. The new identity paired a deep navy with patriotic red and a brand-new crest: the now-iconic curly W, a nod to both Washington and winning. The uniform was clean, classic and unmistakably DC — and when Nationals Park opened in 2008, the curly W finally had a cathedral.
The Banner Year: 2019 and the First Ring
No jersey in Nationals history carries more weight than the 2019 version. That season, Washington completed one of the greatest runs in baseball history: a wild-card entry that swept through the bracket, ending with the franchise's first World Series title — and the first for the District since the Senators of 1924. Max Scherzer's battle face, Stephen Strasburg's dominant October, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto's playoff mashes — they all wore the same stitched navy and red, and they turned the curly W into a champion's mark. When Ryan Zimmerman raised the trophy, a 95-year drought ended in a sea of red, white and blue.
The Next Wave: Crews, Abrams and the New Standard
Championships are built, then rebuilt. The new generation arrived in 2024, and its leader wears #3. Dylan Crews came to Washington with a resume few prospects can match: College World Series MVP as LSU won the 2023 title, the No. 2 overall pick in that summer's draft, and MLB Pipeline's No. 1 prospect in all of baseball entering 2024. By August of that year he was in right field at Nationals Park, and he has been the face of the franchise ever since — flanked by the speed of CJ Abrams and the raw power of James Wood. The curly W is theirs now, and it means the same thing it always has in this town: belief in the next big thing.
Why Stitching Matters
The difference between a printed tee and a museum-grade jersey is tackle twill. Each name, each number is individually sewn — the same construction used on the field. The twill catches the light differently than vinyl; the seams give the jersey its weight and its history. It is craftsmanship you can feel in your hands, and it is why a stitched jersey ages like a championship banner rather than fading after one season.
Ready to carry the tradition? Shop the stitched Dylan Crews #3 Washington Nationals jersey and add your chapter to the story.