one winning season, in 1969. This unbalanced competition militated against any real rivalry springing up between the teams, as games between them tended to be insignificant and dominated by Baltimore. Moreover, memories of this era have faded with time as Baltimore- and Washington-area fans age and thanks to the transient nature of the Washington-area population, where the dominance of United States Government employment results in significant turnovers in population as people arrive to participate in government activities, then leave as political circumstances change. During the early years of the Beltway Series from 2006 to 2011, neither the Nationals nor the Orioles fielded competitive teams, and this meant that the editions of the Beltway Series during those seasons carried no real importance in terms of either team's prospects for winning seasons. Since 2012, when both the Nationals and Orioles began to achieve real success, fan interest in both teams has increased and led to greater attendance, but no particularly significant game has arisen as part of the Beltway Series. In 2017, the rivalry started to become more lopsided. The Nationals won the National League East with a 97–65 record but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS. The Orioles suffered their first losing season since 2011 by finishing 75–87, tied for last place in the American League East. In 2018, despite the Nationals finishing just 82–80, the Orioles finished the season with a disastrous 47–115 record, their first 100-loss season since 1988 and committing to a rebuild. In 2019, this rivalry became even more one-sided when the Nationals claimed a spot in the 2019 World Series against the Houston Astros, which they eventually won. Meanwhile, the Orioles, in the first year of their rebuild, finished the season with a seven-game improvement over 2018 with a 54–108 record. Two-team fans The Baltimore and Washington sports markets also call into question the extent to which fans view a rivalry as existing. Although relatively few Baltimore-area baseball fans appear to support the Nationals, many Washington-area fans adopted the Orioles as their "home team" during the 33 seasons (1972–2004) Washington had no MLB team, and this penetration of the Washington sports market by the Orioles has resulted in many Washington-area MLB fans continuing to root for the Orioles, either instead of or in addition to the Nationals. Supporting both teams is made easier by their membership in different leagues and the rarity of their