Two weeks ago, this DCist pondered aloud whether or not the excitement generated by the arrival of the Washington Nationals would remain over the course of the season. Reader responses varied — many proclaimed their allegiance to the team, other expressed dismay over the team’s less-than-compelling mascot and expensive taste in stadiums. The debate still stands, though: Where will Nats fans be next year, and the year after?

Today’s Examiner explores the same question by comparing the Nats move to the 11 team moves that preceeded it. Starting with the 1953 move of the Boston Braves to Milwaukee (which ended with a 1966 move to Atlanta) and highlighting such moves as that of the Athletics (Philadelphia to Kansas City, 1955), the Giants (New York to San Francisco, 1958, and the Senators (Washington to Arlington, Texas, 1972), columnist Robert Rubino lays out his purpose:

At the risk of revealing a layer of baseball geekiness previously hidden, this is a column about finding intrigue, maybe even drama, in storylines that examine baseball teams’ tales of two cities — what has happened in the first year when an established club reinvents itself in a new city.