Editing National League (baseball) (section)

==Teams==
{{hatnote|Note: Team names are given here according to the convention used by [[The Baseball Encyclopedia]], which regularized them into the familiar form of modern team names. However, most teams in the early period had no name, aside from that of the club (as in "Hartford Base Ball Club" or "Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia"), and nicknames like "Beaneaters," "Perfectos" and the many allusions to uniform colors were inventions by the florid sportswriters of the day.<ref>According to the National League's 1877 Constitution, the member clubs were given as "Boston B. B. Club, Chicago B. B. Club, Cincinnati B. B. Club, Hartford B. B. Club, Louisville B. B. Club, St. Louis B. B. Club." ''Constitution and Playing Rules of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs''. Chicago, A. G. Spalding 1877.</ref>}}

===Charter franchises (1876)===
The eight charter teams were the following:
* [[Philadelphia Athletics (1860–1876)|Athletic Club of Philadelphia]] from National Association, expelled after 1876 season
* [[Boston Braves|Boston "Red Stockings" or "Red Caps"]]<ref>Dewey, Donald & Acocella, Nicholas. ''The Ball Clubs'', p. 28. [[HarperPerennial]], 1996. {{ISBN|0-06-273403-2}}.</ref><ref>''United Press''. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19430421&id=LncbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i0wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3716,285292 "Once Pirates Were Called Innocents!"]. ''[[The Pittsburgh Press]]'', April 21, 1943, p. 31. Retrieved on May 15, 2013.</ref><ref>Shaughnessy, Dan. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1914&dat=19991020&id=qCQgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iGoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1781,3646668 "This Series is fantasy baseball"]. ''[[Sun Journal (Lewiston)]]'', October 20, 1999, p. C1. Retrieved on May 15, 2013.</ref><ref>Boston, like most early teams, had no official name, just nicknames applied by sports reporters, often derived from their uniforms</ref>) from National Association (exist today as the Atlanta Braves)
* [[Chicago Cubs|Chicago "White Stockings"]] from National Association (exist today as the Chicago Cubs)
* [[Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879)|Cincinnati "Red Stockings"]] new franchise, expelled after 1879 season
* [[Hartford Dark Blues|Hartford "Dark Blues"]] (later the Brooklyn Hartfords) from National Association, folded after 1877 season
* [[Louisville Grays|Louisville "Colonels" or "Grays"]] new franchise, folded after 1877 season
* [[New York Mutuals|Mutual Club of New York]] or "Green Stockings" from National Association, expelled after 1876 season
* [[St. Louis Brown Stockings|St Louis "Brown Stockings"]] from National Association, folded after 1877 season

===Other franchises, 1878–1892===
;Joined in 1878
: [[Indianapolis Blues]], folded after 1878
: [[Milwaukee Grays]], folded after 1878
: [[Providence Grays]], folded after 1885
;Joined in 1879
: [[Buffalo Bisons (National League)|Buffalo Bisons]], dropped out of the league after 1885
: [[Cleveland Blues (National League)|Forest City of Cleveland]], folded after 1884
: [[Syracuse Stars (National League)|Syracuse Stars]], folded after 1879
: [[Troy Trojans (National League)|Troy Trojans]], folded after 1882
;Joined in 1880
: [[Cincinnati Stars]], dropped from the National League after the season for refusing to sign a pledge to end beer sales in their park.
: [[Worcester Worcesters|Worcester Ruby Legs]], folded after 1882
;Joined in 1881
: [[Detroit Wolverines]], folded after 1888
;Joined in 1883
: [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Gothams]] (exist today as the San Francisco Giants)
: [[Philadelphia Phillies|Philadelphia Quakers]] (exist today as the Philadelphia Phillies)
;Joined in 1885
: [[St. Louis Maroons/Indianapolis Hoosiers|St. Louis Maroons]], joined from U.A.  Relocated to Indianapolis for 1887 season as the Indianapolis Hoosiers, folded after 1889
;Joined in 1886
: [[Kansas City Cowboys (National League)|Kansas City Cowboys]], folded after 1886
: [[Washington Nationals (1886–1889)|Washington Nationals]], folded after 1889
;Joined in 1887
: [[Pittsburgh Pirates|Pittsburgh Alleghenys]] (exist today as the Pittsburgh Pirates), joined from AA
;Joined in 1889
: [[Cleveland Spiders]], joined from AA, folded after 1899
;Joined in 1890
: [[Cincinnati Reds]], joined from AA (exist today)
: [[Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Grays]] (exist today as the Los Angeles Dodgers), joined from AA
;Joined in 1892
: [[Baltimore Orioles (1882–1899)|Baltimore Orioles]], joined from AA, contracted after 1899
: [[Louisville Colonels]], joined from AA, contracted after 1899
: [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis Browns]] (exist today as the St. Louis Cardinals), joined from AA
: [[Washington Senators (1891–1899)|Washington Senators]], joined from AA, contracted after 1899

==="Classic Eight"===
The eight-team lineup established in 1900 remained unchanged through 1952.  All franchises are still in the league, with five remaining in the same city.
* Boston (nicknamed at various times the "Red Stockings", "Red Caps", "Beaneaters" and "Doves", in 1912 named the Boston Braves, then Milwaukee Braves, now the [[Atlanta Braves]])
* Brooklyn (variously labeled the "Bridegrooms", "Grooms", "Superbas", "Robins", "Trolley Dodgers", and "Bums", later called the Brooklyn Dodgers, now the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]])
* Chicago (at first called by reporters the "White Stockings", then "Infants", "Colts", "Orphans", "Remnants" and by 1906 the [[Chicago Cubs]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/chc/history/timeline01.jsp|title=Cubs Timeline}}</ref>
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] (shortened from early "Red Stockings")
* New York Giants (sometimes "Gothams" and occasionally "Maroons", now the [[San Francisco Giants]]. "Giants" was in general press usage as early as the 1885 season and is probably the oldest consistent nickname in baseball, depending on how one categorizes "Phillies")
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]] (variously "Quakers", "Nationals" and "Pearls." Their ultimate name was just a shortening of the conventional plural-form "Philadelphias.")
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates|Pittsburgh]] (founded in Allegheny, a Pittsburgh suburb at the time which has since been annexed by the city, then claimed Pittsburgh as their home city but continued to be referred to as before as "Alleghenys." After "pirating" a player from the Athletics in the Players League collapse in 1890 were tagged "Pirates" in the press.)
* [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis]] (at various times "Brown Stockings", "Browns", "Red Stockings" and "Reds", and today officially the Cardinals and unofficially "Redbirds")

===Expansion, relocation, and renaming, 1953–present===
{{see also|Major League Baseball relocation of 1950s–1960s}}
* 1953: [[Boston Braves]] move to Milwaukee
* 1958: [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] move to Los Angeles and New York Giants (baseball) move to San Francisco
* 1962: [[Houston Astros#1962–1964: The Colt .45s|Houston Colt .45s]] and [[New York Mets]] enfranchised
* 1965: [[Houston Astros|Houston Colt .45s]] renamed Astros
* 1966: [[Milwaukee Braves]] move to Atlanta
* 1969: [[Montreal Expos]] and [[San Diego Padres]] enfranchised
* 1993: [[Colorado Rockies]] and [[Miami Marlins|Florida Marlins]] enfranchised
* 1998: [[Arizona Diamondbacks]] enfranchised
* 1998: [[Milwaukee Brewers]] moved from the American League.
* 2005: [[Montreal Expos]] moved by MLB to Washington, D.C., renamed the [[Washington Nationals]]
* 2012: Florida Marlins renamed the [[Miami Marlins]]
* 2013: [[Houston Astros]] moved to the American League.

===Current teams===
====National League East====
{{main|National League East}}
[[File:Shea Crowded.jpg|thumb|right|Shea Stadium prior to the start of a [[New York Mets]] game in 2008. Shea had the best attendance in the National League that year, drawing over 53,000 fans per game on average.]]
* [[Atlanta Braves]], the oldest continually operating team in North American sports. Originally from [[Boston Braves|Boston]] and known as "Beaneaters" and other nicknames, as original nickname faded and became re-associated with Cincinnati (and later with the [[Boston Red Sox]]). Adopted name "Braves" in 1912. Moved to [[Milwaukee Braves|Milwaukee]] (1953) and to Atlanta (1966). Prior to the 1994 realignment, the Braves competed in the West division.
* [[Miami Marlins]], enfranchised 1993 as the Florida Marlins, changed name to Miami Marlins (2012).
* [[New York Mets]], enfranchised 1962.
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]], enfranchised 1883 and adopted the Phillies name officially in 1884.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} The team is the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in American professional sports history,<ref>{{cite web |title=History: Phillies Timeline (1800s) |publisher=Philadelphia Phillies |url=http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/phi/history/timeline01.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070129060937/http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/phi/history/timeline01.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2007 |access-date=July 11, 2010}}</ref> although the Cubs (who adopted their name after the Phillies' establishment) are older, as are the Braves, who have moved twice.
* [[Washington Nationals]], enfranchised 1969 as the [[Montreal Expos]]. Moved to [[Washington, D.C.]] (2005).

====National League Central====
{{main|National League Central}}
* [[Chicago Cubs]] enfranchised 1870 as an independent professional team, chartered into the National Association in 1871, but suspended operations for 1872 and 1873 following the [[Great Chicago Fire]].  The team has been continuously active since 1874, making it the oldest continuously active team in its original city in Major League Baseball. It joined the National League as a charter member (1876). Originally called the "Chicago White Stockings" and later the "Chicago Colts" and several other names, the team was first called "Cubs" in 1902.
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] enfranchised 1882 in American Association, at first tagged "Red Stockings", joined National League (1890).
* [[Milwaukee Brewers]] enfranchised 1969 as the [[Seattle Pilots]] in American League, moved to Milwaukee (1970), transferred to National League (1998).
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League (1887), dubbed "Pirates" for signing [[Lou Bierbauer]] away from the Athletics in 1891.
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] enfranchised 1882 in American Association, labeled "Brown Stockings" or just "Browns",  joined National League (1892), later "Perfectos", eventually "Cardinals" for their red trim, now often "Redbirds."

====National League West====
{{main|National League West}}
* [[Arizona Diamondbacks]] enfranchised 1998
* [[Colorado Rockies]] enfranchised 1993
* [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] enfranchised 1883 as a minor league team, entered into the American Association as the [[Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Atlantics]] in 1884, soon acquired nickname "Dodgers" (from "trolley dodgers"), joined National League (1890). Also dubbed "Bridegrooms", "Superbas", "Robins" and "Bums" at various times, in addition to "Dodgers". Moved to Los Angeles (1958)
* [[San Diego Padres]] enfranchised 1969, sometimes called "Friars" or "Dads".
* [[San Francisco Giants]] enfranchised in [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York City]] 1883, nearly half of its original players were members of the then just disbanded [[Troy Trojans (National League)|Troy club]], nickname "Giants" in widespread use by 1886, moved to San Francisco (1958)