10 years ago today, the name 'Nationals' entered this world

10 years ago, Washington DC was missing something vital. Sure, there was the White House and all the Congressmen and lawmakers -- and there was even Fugazi -- but there was no baseball. How could the United States capital not have a baseball team? 

Fortunately, the Nationals arrived in 2005, ending a 34-year MLB drought following the Washington Senators' move to Texas in 1971. And on Nov. 22, 2004, the team was officially christened.

The name "Nationals" beat out a return to the "Senators" or an homage to the "Homestead Grays," who split their time between Pittsburgh and DC from 1930-48.

Since then, the team has made a few changes. First going from a blocky wordmark on the front of the uniform to the script font that is used today. Though the cap logo has remained the same, the road caps switched from all navy to a navy cap with a red brim. 

They also changed stadiums. Moving from the cavernous RFK Stadium to the much-more-hitter friendly Nationals Park in 2008. 

There was one other teensy change they made. Maybe you've heard of a little thing known as the racing Presidents: 

And there's been one player who has seen it all: Ryan Zimmermann. Since making his debut on Sept. 1, 2005, Zimmerman has hit .286/.352/.449 with 184 home runs. Even while battling a number of nagging injuries over the last decade, the third baseman turned left fielder has never had a season with an OPS+ below 103. 

As the Nationals enter their second decade, fresh off three consecutive winning seasons, the future looks bright for the club.