Before being the Minnesota Twins, that franchise played in Washington as the Senators from 1901 to 1960.
From 1960 until 2003, the nation’s capital didn’t have a professional baseball team in MLB.
That changed, in large part, thanks to Ted Lerner.
The successful businessman died from pneumonia at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Sunday, at the age of 97.
He was the managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals.
“Ted Lerner is the reason baseball came back to DC after 33 years. Thank you, Ted. Rest in peace,” the Nationals wrote on their official Twitter account.
Ted Lerner is the reason baseball came back to DC after 33 years.
Thank you, Ted.
Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/FCgEchEYmO
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) February 13, 2023
Lerner was a real estate developer, founder of the real estate company Lerner Enterprises, the largest private landowner in the Washington metropolitan area.
It owns commercial, retail, residential, and hotel properties.
His story with the Nationals started in 2002.
The Montreal Expos gave way to the Nats around those days.
The franchise was formerly owned and operated by MLB from February 15, 2002, until the official transfer of ownership to Lerner in July 2006.
The Lerners have owned the franchise ever since.
Ted was in charge until ceding control to his son, Mark, in 2018.
Not too long after that, in 2019, the Nats won their first and only World Series title thanks to Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and other stars.
With Lerner, the Nationals took home four National League East division championships and appeared in the postseason five times.
He was the owner when they drafted influential players in franchise history, such as Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, and Strasburg.
The team finished with the worst record in baseball in 2022 and are currently rebuilding with an eye on competing in a couple of years.
May he rest in peace.
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