Beltway Series

Baltimore Orioles – Washington Nationals
History
First meeting	May 19, 2006
Last meeting	June 22,2012
Next meeting	May 27, 2013 at Nationals Park
Number of meetings	42
Regular season series	23–19, Orioles
Largest victory	17-5, Nationals (May 20, 2011)
Current streak	1, Orioles
Longest Orioles win streak	3
Longest Nationals win streak	4

The Beltway Series (promoted by the Nationals as The Battle of the Beltways) is the name of the interleague series played between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. The series name is taken from the two beltway highways, the Baltimore Beltway and the Capital Beltway, that service Baltimore and Washington, D.C. It marked the first time the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area had two Major League Baseball franchises since the folding of the first Washington Senators franchise and the departure of the subsequent two franchises of the same name to Minnesota to become the Twins and the second to Texas to become the Rangers. The Beltway Series is expected to become a regular rivalry series in Major League Baseball.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy fueling the rivalry

Opposition to relocation

Although this rivalry is new, many Nationals fans already feel strongly about it. Peter Angelos, the owner of the Orioles, opposed the move of the Montreal Expos to Washington, D.C. on the grounds that it would harm the Orioles financially, contending that the Orioles alone had a legal right to the Baltimore-Washington market. In the four full seasons since the Expos moved to D.C. the Nationals have drawn 9,127,252 fans to the ballpark and the Orioles have drawn 8,892,951 fans to the ballpark.

The Nationals were a larger draw in 2005, the Orioles were a larger draw in 2006 (drawing exactly 100 more fans that year) and in 2007 the Orioles were a larger draw by nearly 200,000 fans. In 2008 the momentum swung back the Nationals way, with the Nationals outdrawing the Orioles by over 370,000 fans, mostly due in part to their then-new ballpark.

Interestingly, the original Washington Senators were well-established in the Baltimore/Washington market for over fifty years before the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore to become the present-day Orioles.

Instrumental in that move was the leadership of the Griffith family—then the owners of the Washington Senators.

Television rights

The dispute with Angelos over the move was resolved when the Orioles were granted the right to broadcast Nationals games on their new television network, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. However, the deal was struck only days before the beginning of the 2005 season and many D.C.-area fans did not receive the new network for some time and were unable to watch most games. Furthermore, it has been reported that Angelos and the Orioles hold majority ownership in the network, which has led some Nationals fans to contend that the channel exhibits a bias in covering the Orioles compared to the Nationals (such as displaying the scores of Beltway Series games as "Orioles vs. Washington" as opposed to "Orioles vs. Nationals"). Furthermore, the Orioles changed the name on their away jerseys from "Baltimore" to "Orioles" in 1972 after D.C. lost the last Senators team, in an attempt to convince D.C. fans to adapt them as their team. In 2009, the Orioles changed back to "Baltimore" on their away jerseys.

O!

The tradition of yelling "O!" during the line "Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave" in the Star Spangled Banner is a Baltimore Orioles tradition. Over the years it became a staple of Washington, DC area sporting events. The chant has had controversy in the past and the usage of the "O!" chant at Nationals games has reignited such controversy.

Club success

Team	World Series Titles	League Pennants	Division Titles	Wild Card Berths	Playoff Appearances	World Series Appearances	All-time Regular Season Record	Win Percentage
Baltimore Orioles	3	6	7	1	10	6	4,651–4,445	.511
Washington Nationals	0	0	1	0	1	0	3,167–3,502	.475
Combined	3	6	8	1	11	6	7818–7669	.505

Note: Numbers include the Montreal Expos and St. Louis Browns.

Summary of results

	Orioles wins	Nationals wins	Orioles runs	Nationals runs
Regular season	16	14	128	119

Orioles vs. Expos

Year	Series Winner	Orioles W	Expos W	Notes
1997	Expos	1	2	Played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
1998	Expos	0	3	Played at Olympic Stadium
1999	Orioles	3	0	Played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
2000	Expos	0	3	Played at Olympic Stadium
2001	Orioles	2	1	Played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Overall	Expos (3-2)	6	9

Beltway series results

Year	Series Winner	Orioles W	Nationals W	Notes
2006	Tie	3	3
2007	Nationals	2	4	First Nats' Beltway Series win, Nats' last year at RFK Stadium
2008	Tie	3	3	Nationals Park opens
2009	Orioles	4	2	First O's Beltway Series win
2010	Orioles	4	2
2011	Tie	3	3
2012	Orioles	4	2	Both teams make the playoffs. First playoff appearance for the Nats.
Overall	Orioles (3-1-3)	23	19

See also

• Major League Baseball rivalries

External links

• Brewing a Rivalry (Washington Post)
• No Need to Read Between the Lines (Washington Post)
• Dawn of a New Rivalry (SI.com)
• The Next Great Baseball Rivalry (Business Week)
• Beltway Battle Has Become Crowd Pleaser (Washington Post)