Montréal Expos
From BR Bullpen
|
Franchise Record: 2755-2943 (1969 to 2004) World Series Titles: 0 National League Pennants: 0 Playoffs: 1 (1981) Franchise Players: Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers, Rusty Staub, Jose Vidro |  Montréal Expos Logo |
|
Franchise |
The Montréal Expos were an expansion team that began play in 1969 (see expansion of 1969). They were the first Major League Baseball team based outside the United States. Montreal had a long association with professional baseball however, especially through the Montreal Royals of the International League, who were the top farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Los Angeles Dodgers until their demise in 1960. In 1968, when the expansion franchise was awarded, Montreal was coming off hosting the highly successful 1967 World Exposition - hence the name Expos - and was still considered the most dynamic city in Canada, a title it was soon to lose to Toronto. The team's original owners wanted to name the franchise the Royals, but the new American League expansion franchise in Kansas City had beaten them to the punch.
The Expos finished below .500 in their first ten seasons, but that did not restrict their popularity. Playing in cozy Jarry Park, a hastily renovated amateur ball park, they were such a hit with the local population that they became known as Nos z'amours (our beloved ones) and their star player Rusty Staub achieved a level of popularity heretofore reserved for hockey players. In 1973, the Expos were involved in an unlikely four-team pennant race in the National League East, achieving a virtual tie for first place on September 17 (Boxscore from Retrosheet) before losing 9 of their next 10 games and finishing the season in fourth place, three and a half game behind the New York Mets. Gene Mauch, who managed the team from its inception in 1969 until 1975, was voted the National League's Manager of the Year after the season. This relative success was only achieved through a lot of smoke and mirrors and some veteran ball players nearing the end of the line, and by 1975, the team was headed back to the bottom of the standings.
The Expos achieved their first winning season in 1979 and remained competitive in the National League East until the mid 80's. They missed the playoffs on the last week-end of the season, losing out to the eventual World Champions both in 1979 and 1980. Led by catcher Gary Carter and outfielders Andre Dawson and Tim Raines, they made their lone playoff appearance in 1981, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Their fortunes dipped in the late 1980s, but by the early 1990s, under the leadership of manager Felipe Alou, the Expos were again competitive. In 1994, they had the best record in baseball in and appeared to be headed to the playoffs again. They were led by a pitching staff that included Ken Hill, who won 16 games, and a young Pedro Martinez. Outfielder Moises Alou hit .339 with 22 home runs. However, the Expos playoff aspirations were ended by the 1994 strike which shortened the season and caused the postseason to be cancelled. Following the 1994 season, the Expos struggled with poor attendance and either traded or let many of their star players leave. Despite the presence of stars such as Vladimir Guerrero, Orlando Cabrera and Jose Vidro, ownership woes led to a club decline in the later 1990s, and the team struggled with poor attendance. There was talk that Major League Baseball would eliminate the club, along with the Minnesota Twins, but the other MLB owners purchased the team until it could be moved. In 2005 the Expos were moved to Washington, DC becoming the Washington Nationals.
[edit] Further Reading
- Daniel Caza: Les Expos: Du Parc Jarry au Stade Olympique, Les Éditions de l'Homme, Montréal, QC, 1996.
- Danny Gallagher: De Jackie Robinson à Felipe Alou: Souvenirs de Montréal, de baseball et des Expos, Les Éditions Mille-Iles, Laval, QC, 1998.
- Danny Gallagher and Bill Young: Remembering the Montreal Expos, Scoop Press, Toronto, ON, 2005.
- David Luchuk: Blue Jays 1, Expos 0: The Urban Rivalry that Killed Major League Baseball in Montreal, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2007.
- Marc Robitaille, ed.: Une vue du champ gauche, Les 400 coups, Saint-Laurent, QC, 2003.
- Jean-Paul Sarault: Les Expos, cinq ans après, Les Éditions de l'Homme, Montréal, QC, 1974.
- Jeff Stuart: Blue Mondays: The Long Goodbye of the Montreal Expos, PublishAmerica, Frederick, MD, 2009.
- Alain Usereau: L'époque glorieuse des Expos, Les Éditeurs Réunis, Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, QC, 2009.
