Last game ever in Montreal for Expos today

[Sylvanfan]

I'll admit I'm not quite old enough to remember the glory days of the late 70's and early 80's when Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Steve Rogers, and Charlie Lea made up the core of the team. My first favorite baseball player was Expo's third baseman Tim Wallach. I believe he had a monster season in 87 after Dawson had bolted for the Cubs. I guess my single fondest Expo memory was watching Denis Martinez toss a perfect game against the Dodgers in like 92 (Although Moises Alou's game winning double in the 94 Allstar game a year after that freak ankle fracture was pretty good too). For me the biggest dissapointment is pretty obvious with the 94 season ending with the Expos sporting a record of like 76-43 and winning 19 of their past 22 games. They were looking like an unstopable team with a lineup that was totally stacked and no weaknesses in the club whatsoever. After 94 I tried to watch Baseball, but never followed it like I did pre-94. I was disappointed with the late season collapse in 96 that cost them the Wild Card spot. That was the last time the Expo's really played any meaningful games in September. Moving the team to Washington D.C. is the smart thing for MLB to do as this is a market Baseball should have been in for some time now. At least a DC team might be willing to spend enough money to make use of a good scouting staff and someday knock off those damn Atlanta Braves!

[habernac]

A sad day for Canadian baseball fans. I was most definitely a Carter fan back in the day. There once was a great fan base there, but owner apathy, the 94 season and the hatred for the Big Owe all contributed to the demise of baseball in Montreal. My regret is that I never got to see a game there. I was going to try this season as I was pretty sure it was going to be the last, but alas it was not to be. So long , Expos. You will be missed by some....

[nfotiu]

I was a huge fan growing up. I've seen one game in the big o. Thought it was cool at the time, but was pretty young. I became a red sox fan the day they traded Pedro Martinez. Watching him play his last year for the expos, you could see he was something really special. Trading him was the final nail in the coffin for that team. It was clear they could never be competitive again. They've been dead to me since that day, really. Although watching the 3 v's have some limited success was fun. I'm not sure how sad it is that they are actually finally dieing. It is probably more sad for them to be where they are now. Kind of like someone who has been left brain dead in a coma for years finally dieing.

Although, now that I am less than a couple hours(barring traffic) from where they are going to be playing, and with Pedro possibly on his way out of Boston, maybe I'll become a renewed fan. Maybe I'll dig up my old expos caps to wear to the games.

El presidente's perfect game was pretty high on the list of memories. I watched that game all the way through. Anyone remember pascal perez, and his pascal ball?

[Sylvanfan]

Yeah, Perez was a pretty entertaining pitcher too for the Spo's in the 90's. I can't remember anyone hitting his eefus pitch hard ever, and it always showed on highlights whenever he threw it. I remember one game where he no hit the Phillies for 5 innings and then the game was called on a rain delay. So I guess in theory it was a no-hitter, just not an official no-hitter, even though the game was officially a 5-0 win for the Expos.
I remember the day the Expos traded DeShields for Martinez and wondering how that deal would work for the Expos. As it turned out, it was an absolute steal as Deshields was very average after that, and Martinez we know the story. I remember the game where Martinez was throwing like a perfect game and either hit a player or threw a high pitch to one of the Reds in the 7th or 8th inning and the guy charged the mound. It was pretty much a gamely occurance where Pedro would give someone some serious chin music. As good as Pedro's been in Boston I still don't think he's thrown as well as he did for the Expo's when he won the Cy Young.

[nfotiu]

Originally posted by Sylvanfan@Sep 29 2004, 03:44 PM
Yeah, Perez was a pretty entertaining pitcher too for the Spo's in the 90's. I can't remember anyone hitting his eefus pitch hard ever, and it always showed on highlights whenever he threw it. I remember one game where he no hit the Phillies for 5 innings and then the game was called on a rain delay. So I guess in theory it was a no-hitter, just not an official no-hitter, even though the game was officially a 5-0 win for the Expos.
I remember the day the Expos traded DeShields for Martinez and wondering how that deal would work for the Expos. As it turned out, it was an absolute steal as Deshields was very average after that, and Martinez we know the story. I remember the game where Martinez was throwing like a perfect game and either hit a player or threw a high pitch to one of the Reds in the 7th or 8th inning and the guy charged the mound. It was pretty much a gamely occurance where Pedro would give someone some serious chin music. As good as Pedro's been in Boston I still don't think he's thrown as well as he did for the Expo's when he won the Cy Young.

Pedro's near perfect game was pretty cool too:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/06031995.shtml

[FlamesAddiction]

I was an Expos fan by default when I was a kid because of my step dad who was from Montreal. I eneded up not really liking baseball, but I'm still sad that it has come down to this.

So where is the team moving to anyway?

[Sylvanfan]

Originally posted by FlamesAddiction@Sep 29 2004, 04:08 PM
I was an Expos fan by default when I was a kid because of my step dad who was from Montreal. I eneded up not really liking baseball, but I'm still sad that it has come down to this.

So where is the team moving to anyway?

They're going to Washington DC. I'm not sure if they'll rename them the Generals or not (at least I think thats what the Washinton DC team used to be). It would make sense to rename the team after relocating them to the name that the former DC team used to have.

[Sylvanfan]

Wow 96 pitches in 9 innings and 9 strikeouts is a pretty efficient pitch count for the day. I remember Mark Gardiner also having a no hitter go to the 10th against the Dodgers two days prior to Martinez perfect game. Gardener eventually lost 1-0 in the 10th. If only the Expos's could have scored some runs for these poor guys.

[albertGQ]

I almost forgot about that near perfect game. I feel bad for Pedro that he lost his perfect game (and no-hitter) in extra innings.

[troutman]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/base...28/expos.dc.ap/

The move also must be approved by three-quarters of major league owners and survive legal challenges by the Expos' former limited partners.

Montreal's last home game is scheduled for Wednesday night against Florida. Tuesday night's game, which the Expos lost 5-2, attracted 5,416 fans.

[Iggy=Flames4ever]

Im a huge Expos fan and it sucks there moving......oh well, guess next season im cheering for washington!

[Resolute 14]

They are expecting 25,000 for the final game tonight, but it is sad that the Cannons and Trappers otherwise averaged more fans in their final homestands than the Expos will have.

Of course, one can thank MLB itself for that.

[AaronSJ]

I also grew up as an Expos fan - Tim Raines was (and still is) my favorite player ever. We used to make an annual weekend trek from N.B. to Montreal to catch a weekend series - it used to be the highlight of my summer.

I was in Montreal last week and went to two games for old times sake. To be honest, I almost had tears in my eyes. It was very sad seeing a major league baseball game with 3,000 fans in a 50,000 seat stadium (and a good portion of them made the trek from NYC to watch the visiting Mets).

I'll be sad to see them go, but their time has come. The franchise deserves a home where the fans will support them rather than embarass them.

I wonder if the Blue Jays are next?

[moon]

Never really liked the Expos. Maybe it is my dislike of Quebec or their ugly uniforms but I never liked them.

However, it does suck that Canada is losing another professional sports team. I think that the Blue Jays will be okay for awhile and that there are actually probably five to ten teams in the States that are in as much trouble or more so then the Blue Jays and would move sooner then the Blue Jays.

[looooob]

too many memories

there's a picture of me on my first birthday eating cake and wearing one of those loveable old expos caps

random ones

-faking an illness to skip school and watch Rick Monday break our hearts
-El Presidente, El Perfecto
-going to the 1982 Allstar game with my older cousin. I believe 4 Expos were in the starting lineup
-Tim Raines returning to the lineup in 86 (I think it was) after a holdout and proceeding to demolish the New York Mets single handedly that day
-Being at Olympic stadium for 'Andre Dawson day' watching his number get retired and then seeing a pitchers duel between Pedro and Glavine
-the expos sending some kid named Randy Johnson and a few other guys to Seattle for legit starter Mark Langston on May 25,1989....the same day some other club won the Stanley Cup
-Raines breaking into the league during the strike shortened 81 season and burn up the basepaths...chasing Fernando for ROY all season
-an ageing Al Oliver all of a sudden winning a batting title and RBI title for the Expos in 1982
-watching it all come grinding to a halt in 1994

[looooob]

Originally posted by AaronSJ@Sep 29 2004, 12:56 PM
I also grew up as an Expos fan - Tim Raines was (and still is) my favorite player ever. We used to make an annual weekend trek from N.B. to Montreal to catch a weekend series - it used to be the highlight of my summer.

I was in Montreal last week and went to two games for old times sake. To be honest, I almost had tears in my eyes. It was very sad seeing a major league baseball game with 3,000 fans in a 50,000 seat stadium (and a good portion of them made the trek from NYC to watch the visiting Mets).

I'll be sad to see them go, but their time has come. The franchise deserves a home where the fans will support them rather than embarass them.

I wonder if the Blue Jays are next?

I tried so hard to get to a final game this year (I've probably been to 100 or more over the years) but it was not to be

of course I agree with you , its embarassing the way fan support went out with a whimper...but I think the Fans hearts were long since broken post 94 and then the Brochu business followed by Loria

and the stadium was an unqualified disaster....downtown Montreal is probably one of the 4 or 5 most vibrant downtowns in North America....yet you have to get on a subway to the suburbs to go INSIDE to watch baseball in a broken down spaceship

[Sylvanfan]

Originally posted by AaronSJ@Sep 29 2004, 06:56 PM
I also grew up as an Expos fan - Tim Raines was (and still is) my favorite player ever. We used to make an annual weekend trek from N.B. to Montreal to catch a weekend series - it used to be the highlight of my summer.

I was in Montreal last week and went to two games for old times sake. To be honest, I almost had tears in my eyes. It was very sad seeing a major league baseball game with 3,000 fans in a 50,000 seat stadium (and a good portion of them made the trek from NYC to watch the visiting Mets).

I'll be sad to see them go, but their time has come. The franchise deserves a home where the fans will support them rather than embarass them.

I wonder if the Blue Jays are next?

Yeah, I was also a huge fan of "Rock" Raines and remember him being MVP of the 87 (86?) allstar game in Oakland. I remember when Vince Coleman was stealing 100 bases a season, and people were calling him the best leadoff guy in baseball. They were overlooking all the other contributions that Raines and his 70 steals a year were making to the Expos.

I do agree that if they can't build a proper place for the Expo's to play and draw fans than they might as well relocate them to a place that will. I have no doubts that Washington DC will be a better home for the franchise whatsoever. The big O and the 76 Olympics in Montreal, just looks terrible in hindsight. I guess at the time Canada had no money whatsoever, and a young population getting established in the work force, so I can see why things were done so cheaply. I'll also admit that nowhere in Canada had ever tried to take on a project that size before, and is likely a reason why a lot of those mistakes were made and why things were done so poorly. I'm sure it did a lot to rev up some national pride at the time, but it cost future generations millions, and was far too ambitious for anyone's abilities at the time. Judging by the SkyDome, it doesn't appear that too many lessons were learned either.

[looooob]

Originally posted by Sylvanfan+Sep 29 2004, 01:30 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Sylvanfan @ Sep 29 2004, 01:30 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-AaronSJ@Sep 29 2004, 06:56 PM
I also grew up as an Expos fan - Tim Raines was (and still is) my favorite player ever. We used to make an annual weekend trek from N.B. to Montreal to catch a weekend series - it used to be the highlight of my summer.

I was in Montreal last week and went to two games for old times sake. To be honest, I almost had tears in my eyes. It was very sad seeing a major league baseball game with 3,000 fans in a 50,000 seat stadium (and a good portion of them made the trek from NYC to watch the visiting Mets).

I'll be sad to see them go, but their time has come. The franchise deserves a home where the fans will support them rather than embarass them.

I wonder if the Blue Jays are next?

Yeah, I was also a huge fan of "Rock" Raines and remember him being MVP of the 87 allstar game in Oakland. I remember when Vince Coleman was stealing 100 bases a season, and people were calling him the best leadoff guy in baseball. They were overlooking all the other contributions that Raines and his 70 steals a year were making to the Expos.

[/b][/quote]
Raines was arguably the 2nd greatest leadoff man of all time...unfortunately for him his career
a) coincided directly with the best leadoff man of all time Rickey Henderson

and b ) took place chiefly in the outpost of Montreal

it will be a real shame if Raines doesn't get elected to the HOF (and many think he won't) because alot of number crunchers think he is likely one of the top players not currently inducted

and yes he was my favorite player also

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

I think the Expos may have helped produce more Major League superstars in recent years than any other team (at least it seems that way). The team certainly had one of the best developmental systems in the majors. Too bad most of them went on to star for other teams.

My memories:

Wednesday night baseball. In the late 70's and early 80's the games were tape-delayed two hours. I used to catch the final score on Shaw (cable 4) and then bet my roommate for beers. I'd always give him just enough runs to cover the spread. I wish the lotto numbers worked this way. BTW, I confessed to my roommate a decade later. I had to buy beers that night (many, many beers).

Rusty Staub (Le Grand Orange) was my favorite baseball player when I was a kid. Although he wasn't with the Expos for very long, but he was immensely popular.

I also enjoyed watching Woody Fryman in the early 80's, an aging pitcher who became a very effective reliever when he was converted from a starter late in his career. Bill Lee had to be one of the most colorful players the Expos ever had.

Bill Gullickson's rookie year. Struck out 18 Cubs one night.

In 1981 (Blue Monday) I had Monday's off with the job I had. I wonder how many remember the 5th and deciding game was supposed to be on Sunday but it was rained out. A bunch of us from work gathered to watch the game and we were stunned when Monday hit his homerun late in the game off Steve Rogers to win it 1-0. My brother was a Dodgers fan and the only one in the room cheering. I'm surprised we didn't beat him up.

Later on, it was the strike in 1994 that finally turned me off (like so many others).

[snowdude]

I remember when you used to see a fair number of Expo games on TSN and that made me want to follow them. Then they faded away and like so many i lost intrest