Welcome to the 10th episode of Run It Back! Today, we are taking a trip to the depths of the archives and looking back on the history of the Montreal Expos, an MLB team that left Quebec two decades ago.
Spring training is underway, meaning baseball season is right around the corner. Opening Day will have plenty of optimism surrounding every team, with all of the records wiped clean at 0-0. The teams that reached last year’s postseason will try for another shot at a championship, and those that didn’t make it in will look for a better year in 2025. It’s fun to have hope at the beginning of a new season—until that hope is taken from you for good.
It has now been 20 years since the Montreal Expos left for Washington, D.C. and played their first season as the Washington Nationals. D.C. fans were excited to have a baseball team in their city again, their first since the second Senators franchise departed for Arlington after the 1971 season. It came at a cost, though, as the struggling Expos left Montreal to play in the United States’ capital.
Who are the Expos? What led to their eventual fate? Why did they leave for a city that had lost multiple teams to relocations?
To answer these questions, we need to go back a little ways.
In an effort to compete with the rising popularity of the NFL, MLB welcomed a plethora of new franchises throughout the 1960s. The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators (now the Texas Rangers) joined the American League in 1961, the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) and New York Mets entered the National League in 1962, and then an even bigger expansion took place. Four new teams—two in the AL, two in the NL—were set to begin play in 1969: the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Pilots (now the Milwaukee Brewers).
Montreal had a long history with the game of baseball—the minor-league Montreal Royals began play in the 1890s, playing at various levels of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) over the next several decades. By 1946, the club had been promoted to the AAA class, the highest level of minor league play, and became one of the best teams in the history of MiLB.
During the 1945-46 off-season, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey signed infielder Jackie Robinson to a contract, and Robinson was assigned to the Royals, the Dodgers’ AAA club, for 1946. Robinson had spent 1945 with the Negro leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs, and was looking for a chance to play in Major League Baseball.
Despite Montreal manager Clay Hopper’s initial protests and hostility from opposing crowds during road trips, Robinson played for the Royals during the 1946 season, excelling in his short stint with the team. Robinson batted a shade under .350 to claim the International League batting title and tallied more than 60 runs batted in (RBIs) and 20 doubles over 124 games. On top of this, Robinson led the league in runs scored (113), and his 40 stolen bases were good for second place behind teammate Marv Rackley.
Robinson and the Royals went on to win the International League championship, the club’s fourth league title overall. That off-season, Hopper recommended Robinson for promotion to the major leagues, and Robinson went on to break baseball’s color barrier in 1947. The rest, as they say, is history.
Robinson retired following the 1956 season, and two years later, the Dodgers said goodbye to Brooklyn and moved to Los Angeles. In 1960, the Dodgers ended their affiliation with Montreal, and the Royals relocated to Syracuse for 1961. Minor league baseball in Montreal had officially ceased.
Considering Montreal’s role in helping Robinson to reach the MLB level, there was plenty of reason for the city to be considered for expansion. In 1962, Montreal City Councillor Gerry Snyder met with MLB Commissioner Ford C. Frick to discuss the possibility of bringing an expansion club to Montreal, but talks had stalled after Snyder revealed that the city did not have a stadium to host a team.
Snyder was undeterred, however, proposing the idea once again at the 1967 Winter Meetings. There, Snyder received support from several owners, including Pirates owner John Galbreath, Astros owner Roy Hofheinz, and Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, the latter of whom was the chairman of the NL’s expansion committee. By May of 1968, the NL officially awarded an expansion franchise to Montreal, set to begin play in 1969 as the first team from outside the United States (the Toronto Blue Jays did not play their first season until 1977).
Or were they?
Despite the announcement, there was still no stadium deal in place yet. Jean-Louis Lévesque, one of the club’s premier backers, rescinded his financial support in the summer of 1968, and rumors swirled that Buffalo would get the franchise instead. Buffalo had a suitable venue in War Memorial Stadium, while Montreal did not have a stadium large enough to host an MLB club.
In spite of these rumors, Snyder quickly found another investor in Charles Bronfman and continued the search for a stadium. The group was able to get the $1.1 million installment paid by the Aug. 15 deadline, and suggested to NL president Warren Giles that Jarry Park Stadium would be able to expand from 3,000 seats to nearly 30,000. Giles approved of Jarry Park as a temporary stadium, giving Montreal a home for its first few years.
Now, for perhaps the most important part of a team’s identity, its name: during this process, Royals, Voyageurs, and Nationals were presented as potential names. However, Kansas City’s new AL club had already claimed the Royals name, and the idea of having a name be spelled the same way in both French and English was important to keep in mind. Thus, the club settled on Expos, paying homage to the 1967 International and Universal Exposition (also known as Expo 67), which was held in Montreal. The Montreal Expos (Les Expos de Montréal) were officially born.
On Apr. 8, 1969, the Expos defeated the New York Mets 11-10 at Shea Stadium despite allowing four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Nine days later, Montreal pitcher Bill Stoneman threw the first no-hitter in Expos history, striking out eight in a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Montreal did not fare too well over the remainder of the season, however; the Expos suffered a 20-game losing streak from May to June and ended their inaugural season 52-110, tying with the Padres, a fellow expansion team, for last in the NL.
As the 1970s began, Montreal slightly improved, winning at least 70 games in each of the next six seasons. One of their best players from this era was right fielder Rusty Staub; nicknamed “Le Grand Orange” by Expos fans, Staub became beloved by the Montreal faithful when he learned French to connect with them. In his initial stint with the club, Staub averaged 169 hits, 26 home runs, and 90 RBIs across three seasons with Montreal from 1969-1971.
Staub was named an All-Star all three years (being the Expos’ first and only All-Star during this period), but departed from the organization ahead of the 1972 season in a trade with the Mets that sent Tim Foli, Mike Jorgensen, and Ken Singleton to Montreal. All three became mainstays for the Expos over the next several seasons, shining on an otherwise struggling team playing in a temporary ballpark.
Foli became Montreal’s regular shortstop, and Jorgensen won the only Gold Glove of his career while with the Expos in 1973. That same season, Singleton had a career year, leading the majors in on-base percentage (.425) and totaling 23 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a .302 batting average; for his efforts, Singleton finished ninth in NL MVP voting.
Fifth on that list was relief pitcher Mike Marshall, who dominated on the mound during the later innings. Marshall was one of the most reliable relievers in the league in 1973, leading the majors in games pitched (92) and games finished (73), and his 31 saves were the best in the NL. In addition to finishing fifth in NL MVP voting, Marshall was also the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award, losing out to Mets starter Tom Seaver. After the season, though, Marshall was traded to the Dodgers, winning NL Cy Young honors in 1974.
Although Montreal had been moderately improving on the field, things were not so good off of it. With each passing season, Jarry Park became increasingly worse for the Expos, continually showing the reasons why it was only meant to be used as a short-term venue. Though it was only meant to be the team’s home for a few years, Montreal wound up playing eight seasons at Jarry Park in part due to a local workers’ strike, which halted the completion of their new ballpark.
Around this time, Snyder had served as part of Montreal’s bid to host the 1972 Olympic Games, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the Games to Munich instead. Montreal would later host the 1976 Olympics, but due to the aforementioned workers’ strike and delays due to the city’s cold winters, some parts of the venue remained unfinished by the Games’ opening ceremony.
In 1976, the Expos’ final season at Jarry Park, Foli recorded the first cycle in franchise history. During a road game against the Cubs at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on Apr. 21, Foli hit a single, a double, and a triple before play was stopped due to darkness (Wrigley did not put lights in their stadium until 1988). When play resumed, Foli completed the cycle with a home run as Montreal prevailed by a score of 12-6. This would be one of the lone highlights of the season, as the Expos wound up finishing 55-107, the franchise’s worst record since 1969.
During the 1976-77 off-season, a potential relocation threat emerged.
In addition to being the Expos’ majority owner, Bronfman was also the head of the Seagram company. Prior to the 1976 Quebec election, Bronfman threatened to relocate Seagram out of Quebec if the separatist Parti Québécois (PQ) won the election, which also hinted at a similar fate for the Expos. The PQ won the election in a landslide, but Bronfman backed down on his initial threat, and both the Expos and Seagram remained in Quebec.
With the relocation rumors squashed, 1977 ushered in a new era of baseball in Montreal: after eight years at Jarry Park, the team finally arrived at Olympic Stadium. Outfielder Andre Dawson was named NL Rookie of the Year, hitting .282 with 21 stolen bases and 19 home runs on the season. On the managerial front, the club hired Dick Williams, who had previously reached the World Series with the Boston Red Sox (1967) and Oakland Athletics (1972, 1973), winning the Fall Classic twice while with the A’s.
Over the next several seasons, the Expos would develop their core of the future, which included the likes of outfielders Dawson and Tim Raines, as well as outfielder-turned-catcher Gary Carter. With these changes, would the Expos finally reach the postseason?
1979 saw the team unveil a new mascot in Youppi! (French for “Yippee!”). It also saw the return of Le Grand Orange, as Staub returned to Montreal in a trade with the Detroit Tigers that July. Staub’s second stint with the Expos saw him collect 23 hits and 14 RBIs over 38 games, bringing back some of the oomph in his bat that had been a regular presence at Jarry Park several years earlier.
That season, Montreal finished 95-65, just two games behind the eventual champion Pittsburgh Pirates for the NL East division crown. Carter, starting pitcher Steve Rogers, and third baseman Larry Parrish were all named All-Stars, and Carter, Parrish, and Dawson each garnered NL MVP votes, with Parrish finishing fourth. Although the Expos missed the postseason, 1979 was their best season yet; not only was this their first 90-win season, but it was also their first winning season overall.
Morale was perhaps the highest that it had ever been amongst Expos fans. The team won 90 games in 1980, but once again finished second in the division, one game behind the eventual champion Phillies. Carter, Montreal’s only All-Star, had a stellar season, hitting 29 home runs and notching 101 RBIs (a new career high) while claiming his first career Gold Glove; for his efforts, Carter finished second in NL MVP voting, losing out to Philadelphia third baseman Mike Schmidt.
Midway through the 1981 season, the players’ association (MLBPA) went on strike due to a disagreement with the owners over free agency compensation. The owners wanted to stop losing marquee players to other teams via free agency; to combat this, they created a rule where an owner could select from a pool of the other team’s players and choose one to replace the player they were losing. The players did not like this, feeling as though this system could hurt the bargaining power of the players that were chosen as compensation. On Jun. 12, 1981, the conflict came to a head, and the players began a strike.
At the time of the strike, the Expos were in third place in the NL East at 30-25, sitting four games out of the division lead. When play resumed, the league adopted a modified playoff format to make up for the time lost due to the strike—the team that finished in first place in the first “half” of the season (prior to the strike) would advance to the postseason, and the team that finished atop each division during the second “half” of play (after play had resumed in August) would advance as well. This format came with some controversy, but that’s another story for another time.
By the ‘81 season, the players’ relationship with Williams had been deteriorating, leading to the manager’s firing near the end of the year. Williams, a manager known for being hard on his players, had become frustrated with the pitching staff in particular. He criticized Rogers for having “king of the mountain syndrome,” meaning that he felt that Rogers was a good pitcher on a bad team, but couldn’t deliver when the team got good. Williams’ declining rapport with the pitchers extended to closer Jeff Reardon, who had been acquired from the Mets earlier in the season in exchange for Gold Glove outfielder Ellis Valentine.
On Sep. 7, 1981, Montreal fired Williams, replacing him with Jim Fanning, who had previously been the Expos’ general manager from 1969-1976. Under the more relaxed Fanning, Montreal won 16 of their last 27 games to win the NL East during the second half of the season. Seeing as Philadelphia was in first prior to the work stoppage, the Expos would be facing the Phillies in the newly-implemented—albeit temporary—National League Division Series (NLDS).
Game 1 was played at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, marking the first postseason game in MLB history to be played outside of the United States. Rogers got the nod for the series opener, going first in the Expos’ quest to knock off the defending World Series champions.
Despite allowing 10 hits, Rogers only allowed one run in the game, a home run in the second inning. Rogers went on to pitch 8 ⅔ innings before Reardon came in to record the final out and seal the win. On the other side, Montreal’s offense gave Rogers three runs of support, all of which came against Philadelphia ace Steve Carlton over the first four innings. The first postseason game in Quebec was in the books, and the Expos headed into Game 2 up 1-0 in the NLDS.
Fanning sent Bill Gullickson in to start Game 2 as Montreal had a chance to go up 2-0 in the series. Gullickson entered 1981 as one of the best young pitchers in the game, having gone 10-5 with a 3.00 earned-run average (ERA) the year before. Needless to say, Gullickson was formidable, despite still being somewhat of a raw pitcher.
Montreal jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks in large part to a two-run home run by Carter in the third inning. Gullickson kept the Phillies’ offense at bay until the eighth, when Pete Rose scored Lonnie Smith with a single. Gullickson was pulled after facing one more batter, and Reardon secured the last four outs to get his second consecutive save. The Expos traveled to Philadelphia needing just one more win to advance to the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
With the series shifting to Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium, Montreal had three chances to close out the series. They just needed to continue to put up good numbers on the mound, and the offense would provide the rest.
Or so they thought.
Expos starter Ray Burris ran into trouble early on, giving up three hits in the second inning as the Phillies took a 2-1 lead. Fanning pulled Burris in the sixth for Bill Lee, who then surrendered two more runs to increase Montreal’s deficit to three. Despite Carter’s sacrifice fly in the eighth, the Expos could not produce anything else on offense as the Phillies prevailed 6-2 to cut Montreal’s series lead in half. Of course, the Expos were not necessarily expecting to sweep the defending champions in three games, but the outcome of Game 3 was certainly not ideal. Even still, Montreal had two more chances to take the series and move on.
Game 4 was a dogfight, with both combatants going back and forth as the game progressed. The Phillies went up 4-0 in the third inning, but the Expos evened the score in the sixth. Tied 5-5 through nine, the game reached extra innings as Reardon faced Philadelphia pinch hitter George Vuckovich to open the bottom of the 10th; Vuckovich launched a walk-off home run, tying the series at two games apiece. Due to the 2-3 home field format that was in place at the time, the win or go home Game 5 would also be played at Veterans Stadium.
Following back-to-back losses, all of the pressure fell onto the Expos, who only had one more opportunity to advance. With the series on the line, Game 1 starters Rogers and Carlton faced off once more to try and send their teams to the NLCS.
Game 5 quickly became a pitchers’ duel, as neither opponent had more than three hits through the first four innings. Then, with the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, Rogers singled to center field to break the scoreless tie, putting Montreal up 2-0. One inning later, Parrish increased the Expos’ lead to 3-0, recording a double to bring home Dawson. Neither pitching staff allowed any more runs to score, as both Rogers and Carlton went deep into the game. Rogers completed his shutout victory with three lineouts in the ninth, sparing Montreal the embarrassment of blowing a 2-0 series lead and sending them to the next round.
Just as the Expos ended the Phillies’ title defense, the Dodgers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Astros in five games. Two days after the teams’ respective Game 5 victories in the NLDS, the NLCS began at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Gullickson made his second postseason start in Game 1. The Dodgers got to Gullickson early on, taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Los Angeles starter Burt Hooton kept Montreal in check, allowing just six hits and no runs over 7 ⅓. Reardon entered the game in the eighth, giving up a single and back-to-back home runs as the Dodgers’ lead widened to 5-0. Parrish doubled to get the Expos on the board in the ninth, but LA closer Steve Howe shut the door on Montreal to cap off a 5-1 win for the Dodgers. To avoid going back home down 2-0, the Expos needed to respond in Game 2.
Montreal was met with a challenge in Game 2, facing mighty LA rookie Fernando Valenzuela. During the 1981 regular season, the 20-year-old left-hander led the NL in starts (25), complete games (11), and innings pitched (192 ⅓), while his eight shutouts and 180 strikeouts led both major leagues. On top of this, Valenzuela also pitched at least eight innings in both of his starts vs. Houston in the NLDS, tossing eight in Game 1 and all nine in Game 4. The Expos would need to bring their A-game to succeed against Valenzuela, especially if they wanted to go back to Montreal with the series tied.
The Montreal lineup certainly got that memo, tacking on five hits and two runs versus Valenzuela over the first two innings. Valenzuela settled into a groove in the third, but Carter drove Dawson home in the sixth as the Expos scored their third run of the game. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda pulled his starter after the inning was over, making this Valenzuela’s shortest start of the playoffs thus far.
Meanwhile, Burris was redeeming himself for Game 3 of the NLDS, allowing just three hits through six innings. Burris would only give up two more hits over the remainder of the game, pitching a shutout to deliver a 3-0 win for Montreal. The Expos got a huge win over Valenzuela and Los Angeles, heading back to Olympic Stadium with the series tied at one game apiece.
Montreal’s first NLCS game at Olympic Stadium saw another pitchers’ duel ensue, as Rogers and Dodgers starter Jerry Reuss only let up three hits before LA drew first blood in the fourth inning. Dusty Baker began the Dodgers’ attack with a base hit, and went all the way to third base on a single from Steve Garvey. Ron Cey grounded out to bring home Baker, and Los Angeles broke the 0-0 tie in the top of the fourth. Despite allowing the one run, Rogers held off the Dodgers the rest of the way as Montreal won 4-1 to claim a 2-1 lead in the series. Needing just one more win to advance to the World Series, the Expos could clinch the NL pennant at home.
After being outscored 7-1 over Games 2 and 3, LA fought back in Game 4. Baker got a base hit to bring home Bill Russell in the third, but the Expos tied things up at 1-1 in the fourth when Carter scored on a throwing error. Game 1 starters Gullickson and Hooton kept the game tied over the next several innings, but the Dodgers struck against Gullickson in the eighth.
With one out and Baker on first, Garvey hit a two-run homer to put Los Angeles back on top, 3-1. To try and avoid further damage, Fanning pulled Gullickson that same inning, bringing in reliever Woodie Fryman. The game unraveled for Fryman in the ninth—after giving up hits to Steve Yeager and Derrel Thomas, Fryman intentionally walked Russell to load the bases. Baker bounced one up the middle of the infield, scoring Yeager and Thomas to make the score 5-1 Dodgers. Montreal’s bullpen continued to struggle, dropping Game 4 7-1 and allowing LA to tie the series at 2-2.
The Expos once again found themselves in a winner-takes-all Game 5, only this time, they were at home at Olympic Stadium. With their season on the line, Montreal sent out Burris to pitch Game 5, while the Dodgers countered with Valenzuela; despite his struggles in Game 2, Valenzuela would not go down easily against the Expos, especially with the fate of LA’s season resting on his arm.
Game 5 started out very similarly to Game 2—Montreal’s offense scored early on vs. Valenzuela, while Burris kept the Dodgers at bay in the early going. The Expos’ slim lead lasted until the fifth inning, when Valenzuela grounded out with runners on second and third to bring Rick Monday home from third. Remember that name, it will be important again soon.
Neither side brought home another run for the next three innings as the score remained 1-1 heading into the top of the ninth. Would Montreal stave off Los Angeles and walk it off in the bottom of the inning? Or would the Dodgers take the lead?
If you guessed the second option, you win a prize!
With the fate of his team’s season hanging in the balance, Fanning brought in his ace, Rogers, on just two days’ rest. It was a risky move, but considering the weight of this ninth inning, one could understand the manager’s decision.
Let’s just say, this gamble did not pay off.
Rogers got through Garvey and Cey, bringing Monday to the plate. Monday hit what wound up being the game-winning home run, putting LA back in front, 2-1. Rogers limited the damage by striking out Pedro Guerrero, giving the Expos one last chance to win the game.
Valenzuela retired the first two batters before giving up consecutive walks to Carter and Parrish. With two on and two out, White came to the plate with a chance to walk it off or at least tie the score. Unfortunately, neither of these outcomes occurred, as White instead grounded to second to end the game. The Montreal faithful watched in agony as the visiting Dodgers celebrated their pennant victory at Olympic Stadium; Game 5 of the NLCS became known as “Blue Monday” in Expos lore.
Los Angeles went on to win the World Series, prevailing over the New York Yankees in six games to claim their fifth championship in franchise history. The Dodgers had three—yes, three—players win World Series MVP: Cey, Guerrero, and Yeager. Valenzuela was named NL Rookie of the Year and the NL Cy Young Award winner, finishing fifth in NL MVP voting.
On the plus side, Montreal had some award wins and accolades of their own—Raines’s 71 stolen bases led both major leagues, and he finished as the runner-up to Valenzuela in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Dawson and Carter took home Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers for their positions, and they both finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting—Dawson was second, while Carter was sixth. Even though 1981 did not end the way the Expos wanted to, 1982 was another opportunity for a chance at the ultimate prize.
The ‘82 season saw Parrish leave Montreal, as the Expos traded him and Dave Hostetler to the Rangers for first baseman Al Oliver. Oliver succeeded in his first year with the club, leading the NL in hits (204), doubles (43), RBIs (109), and batting average (.331). This would be one of the best seasons of Oliver’s career, as he was named to the NL All-Star team, finished third in NL MVP voting, and took home a Silver Slugger.
Several of Montreal’s core players continued to do well in 1982, with Carter, Dawson, Raines, and Rogers joining Oliver on the NL All-Star roster. The All-Star Game was held at none other than Olympic Stadium, where the NL won 4-1 over the AL. Rogers was named the NL’s starting pitcher, receiving credit for the victory after the NL took a 3-1 lead in the third inning. Rogers finished as the runner-up for NL Cy Young, losing out to Philadelphia’s Carlton, who won the award for the fourth time. Carter and Dawson once again received MVP votes, although they did not finish quite as high as they did in 1981.
Despite strong performances from their players, the Expos did not do as well in the standings, spending most of the season anywhere from second to fourth place. After being penned by several outlets to win the NL East, Montreal ended the 1982 campaign in third at 86-76, six games behind the eventual champion St. Louis Cardinals. Fanning stepped down as manager, handing over the reins to Bill Virdon.
From 1979-1982, the Expos had either finished just behind the World Series champions in the NL East standings or lost to them in the postseason. It was time to start showing stronger results over a full season while the core was still healthy, productive, and most importantly, together.
Those results did not come in 1983, as Montreal finished just barely over .500 at 82-80. The Expos led the division as late as Sep. 13, but lost 12 of their final 20 games to drop to third place, eight games back of Philadelphia. Like with most of the last five years, Montreal was a bridesmaid, but never the bride.
On the plus side, 1983 saw three Expos receive NL MVP votes: Dawson was the runner-up to Atlanta Braves outfielder Dale Murphy, while Raines finished fifth and Oliver in 19th. Dawson won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove, as well as his third Silver Slugger in four years. Rogers finished in the top five for NL Cy Young voting again, dropping to fourth this time around. Perhaps next year will be kinder to our francophone friends?
In 1984, Montreal acquired Pete Rose, who left the Phillies in free agency due to wanting a larger role on the field than Philadelphia had envisioned. Rose signed a one-year contract with the Expos later in the off-season, and added another milestone to his career. On Apr. 13, Rose recorded his 4,000th hit in a 5-1 victory vs. the Phillies, exactly 21 years after getting his first major league hit with the Cincinnati Reds; Rose’s hit total would climb to 4,054 by mid-August before Montreal dealt him to Cincinnati.
Although Rose reached a new milestone with the Expos, things were beginning to change in Montreal, and not necessarily for the better. The Expos plummeted to 78-83, finishing fifth in the NL East; these marks were the team’s worst since 1978 and 1977, respectively. During the season, Virdon informed general manager John McHale that he did not want to come back for 1985 after his contract expired at the end of the year; McHale fired Virdon in August and brought back Fanning as interim manager. After five years as one of the top three teams in the NL East, Montreal was near the bottom again.
1985 continued the changes that had begun the previous year—out went McHale as GM, in came Murray Cook. Out went Fanning as manager (again), in came Buck Rodgers. Out went Carter as catcher—glass shatters—wait, what?
Yes, you read that right. Carter, one of the Expos’ best players in franchise history, had been traded to the Mets. New York was on the rise around this time, while Montreal was declining after several years of failed attempts to win a division title over a full season. On Dec. 10, 1984, the Expos dealt Carter to the Mets in exchange for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham, and Floyd Youmans. All four players that Montreal received in the Carter trade would stick around for at least the next three-plus seasons, with Winningham and Youmans the first to depart in 1988.
The Expos improved in 1985, ending year one of the Rodgers era at 84-77, the team’s best finish in three years. Third baseman Tim Wallach had a solid year, earning his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards; Wallach was one of three All-Stars for Montreal that season, alongside Raines and Reardon. New shortstop Brooks had a Silver Slugger season of his own, setting new career highs in hits (163), doubles (34), triples (7), runs scored (67), and RBIs (100). Predictably, the Expos did not reach the postseason despite their on-field talent, finishing 16 ½ games behind the 101-61 Cardinals.
This would be Rogers’s (the pitcher’s) final year with Montreal; Rogers, who was 35 by this point, had a rocky start to the season, giving up 25 runs in just eight appearances on the mound. The Expos released their former ace in May, just over a month into his 13th season with Montreal at the major league level. With that, another marquee contributor from the 1981 playoff run was gone.
Year two of Rodgers’s tenure as manager did not go as well as Montreal had hoped, as the team ended 1986 in fourth place in the NL East. The Expos fell back to 78-83 once again, nearly 30 games behind the 108-win Mets. Montreal fans could not help but watch as New York went on to win the World Series, giving Carter his first championship. Alas, if only Carter could have won with the Expos.
The 1986-87 off-season saw Dawson depart in free agency; after a decade of being one of Montreal’s biggest stars, Dawson’s knees had taken a beating from the artificial turf at Olympic Stadium. Team management significantly drove down his value by bringing up the knee issues to other clubs; angered by this, Dawson signed a blank check with the Cubs in free agency, hoping to mitigate any lingering injuries by playing in a ballpark with natural grass. Just like that, another core player was gone.
Nevertheless, 1987 saw Montreal win 91 games, the team’s highest win total in seven years. Strangely enough, the Expos never led the NL East at any point in the season, as the team was forced to play catch-up after stumbling to 8-12 in April. Even still, Montreal was within two games of the division lead as late as Sep. 19, keeping pace with St. Louis and New York as the season entered its final weeks.
However, the Expos’ division title hopes dissipated when they lost eight of their last 15 games; the Cardinals went 9-6 down the stretch to finish 95-67, four games ahead of Montreal and three ahead of the Mets. Yet again, the Expos were good, but their division opponents were just a tad bit better. Cook was fired in August for having an affair with Pamela Brochu, then-wife of team CEO Claude Brochu; Stoneman, now an executive in the front office, was named acting GM for the remainder of the year.
One of the biggest highlights from this season was on Aug. 16, when Raines became the third Expo to hit for the cycle. Raines went five-for-five on the day, lifting Montreal to a 10-7 victory over Pittsburgh at Olympic Stadium. Raines had another productive season in 1987, earning his seventh consecutive All-Star selection and finishing in the top 10 in NL MVP voting. The winner? Dawson, whose knees finally caught a break playing on natural grass at Wrigley Field.
The Expos had two middling seasons in 1988 and ‘89, going 81-81 in both years. 1990 was a little bit better, as Montreal finished the season 85-77. Around this time, first baseman Andrés Galarraga burst onto the scene, winning a Silver Slugger in 1988 and back-to-back Gold Gloves in 1989 and 1990. The turn of the decade also saw the rise of starting pitcher Dennis Martínez, who earned his first career All-Star selection in his 15th major league season. While some of the younger players were providing valuable contributions on the field, major changes were occurring off of it.
In Nov. 1990, a change in ownership occurred; Bronfman had asked Brochu, the team president at the time, to help with the search for a new buyer. Having failed to find a local businessman willing to serve as the majority owner, Brochu led a consortium to purchase the team himself following the 1990 season. The deal was completed in mid-1991, preventing a potential relocation to an American market like Miami or Buffalo, both of whom had interested buyers.
One of Brochu’s first moves as owner was trading Raines out of Montreal. On Dec. 23, 1990, Raines was packaged with Jeff Carter and a player to be named later (which became Mario Brito) to the Chicago White Sox for Iván Calderón and Barry Jones. Raines had been with Montreal since his MLB debut in 1979, back when he was just 19 years old. Years later, Raines admitted that he wanted to leave the Expos to try and win a World Series, feeling as though that would not happen if he stayed in Montreal.
1991 marked the first season since 1973 to not feature Carter, Dawson, or Raines in an Expos uniform, marking the end of an era for the franchise. History was made once more that summer, as Martínez pitched the 13th perfect game by an MLB pitcher at Dodger Stadium in July. At season’s end, Martínez reached fifth place in NL Cy Young voting, his highest finish during his time with Montreal.
The rest of the team did not do quite as well as Martínez, though—1991 was Montreal’s first last-place finish since 1976, going 71-90 in Rodgers’s final season as manager. Rodgers was fired 49 games in, with the Expos sitting at 20-29 in June. His replacement, Tom Runnells, did not do much better, as Montreal went 51-61 to finish 1991. Runnells was canned shortly afterwards, lasting just 37 games into 1992 before being fired after a 17-20 start.
The team brought in Felipe Alou to succeed Runnells; Alou had played 17 seasons in MLB before going on to serve in various capacities within the Expos organization throughout the 1970s and ‘80s. Alou joined his son, Moisés, who had been with Montreal since 1990, having been acquired in a trade with the Pirates. Under Felipe’s direction, the Expos went 70-55 the rest of the way to finish second to Pittsburgh in the NL East. Moisés finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting, losing out to Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros.
Montreal continued going strong in 1993, winning 94 games in Felipe’s first full season as manager. Outfielder Marquis Grissom earned his first All-Star selection, reaching new heights on offense with 188 hits and 95 RBIs. The Expos finished second in the division once again, three games behind the NL champion Phillies.
That off-season, Montreal traded Delino DeShields to the Dodgers for Pedro Martínez (yes, him), who would become one of the best pitchers in baseball over the next several years. Adding a rising star like Martínez to a team that had just won 94 games was sure to be a recipe for success, right?
The Expos started out 28-22 through the first two months of the season, 3 ½ games out of first place. Montreal heated up in June, though, going 19-8 on the month to pull within 1 ½ games of the division lead. The momentum continued into July, as the Expos wound up taking the top spot for good with a win over Los Angeles on Jul. 22. By this point, Montreal was 58-37, looking to reach the postseason for the first time in 13 years, all while fielding the second-lowest payroll in MLB.
Over their next 19 games, the Expos went an astounding 16-3, putting them at 74-40 on Aug. 11. Featuring talented young players like the aforementioned Grissom, Martínez, and Moisés Alou, as well as first baseman Cliff Floyd and outfielder Larry Walker, it seemed like Montreal was primed for a championship run. With the best record in the majors, surely nothing could stop the Expos now, right? Right?
On Aug. 12, another strike began. Unlike the 1981 strike, though, this one would not be resolved by the end of the season, or even the end of the calendar year.
Player salaries had been going up for about a decade or so, and owners wanted to put a cap on said salaries. This had been a recurring issue for several years, delaying the start of the 1990 season. At least MLB had an impartial commissioner that time, though.
Fay Vincent served as MLB Commissioner from 1989-1992, resigning in 1992 after owners voted 18-9 in a no-confidence vote. Owners still felt betrayed over the way Vincent handled the 1990 lockout; although the season still started on time and played out like normal, the owners did not like that Vincent had sided with the players in their refusal to adopt a salary cap. Shortly after Vincent stepped down, then-Brewers owner Bud Selig was named acting commissioner, creating a conflict of interest and worsening the owners’ already tense relationship with the MLBPA.
By the summer of 1994, the players had reached a tipping point and went on strike, refusing to give in to the owners’ demands for a salary cap. In September, Selig called off the rest of the season, including the World Series, marking the first time in 90 years that the Fall Classic was not contested. This could not have come at a worse time for our friends in Quebec, who had perhaps the best possible chance at reaching the postseason when the strike first started.
With the NL adding the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins via expansion in 1993, MLB expanded the postseason format to four teams per league—three division champions (East, West, and the newly-added Central), plus a wild card. Even if Montreal did not win the NL East, they still had a shot at reaching the playoffs now that the wild card had been implemented.
Instead, the Expos’ best shot at a postseason berth in 13 years was out the window, reducing the team’s 1994 campaign to nothing more than one of the many what-ifs of sports history. MLB’s oft-forgotten francophones were met with yet another disappointment, this one much bigger than the ones from years past.
As a consolation prize, the managers of the teams that were in first place in each league at the time of the play stoppage were named the Managers of the Year for 1994. Felipe was named NL Manager of the Year, the franchise’s second manager to win the award. Likewise, Moisés finished third in NL MVP voting, starting pitcher Ken Hill was the runner-up for NL Cy Young, and Floyd finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
The strike continued into the winter of 1995, as MLB owners hoped to play the ‘95 season with replacement players. This caused issues for a few teams, including the Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles—the Blue Jays were unable to play games in Toronto due to a provincial law in Ontario that prohibited the use of replacement workers. In addition, Baltimore owner Peter Angelos, who made his fortune as a labor lawyer, did not intend to field a team with replacement players, siding in solidarity with his players.
With multiple teams pushing back against the owners, the strike progressed into the spring. Judge Sonia Sotomayor, then of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, issued an injunction against the owners on Mar. 31. The owners appealed, but Sotomayor’s decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the strike came to an end on Apr. 2, one day before the season was set to begin with replacement players.
Right as things were looking up for Montreal again, the Expos’ roster was depleted during the 1994-95 off-season. Strapped for cash, Brochu had general manager Kevin Malone offload several key players in a fire sale—Grissom, Hill, and John Wetteland were all traded, and Walker signed with the Rockies in free agency, where he would win NL MVP honors in 1997. Montreal’s young roster that had dominated the latter half of the ‘94 season was decimated in just one off-season.
The Expos began the shortened 1995 campaign just over .500, sitting at 19-15 through the end of May. This would not last, however, as Montreal fell to 29-31 on Jun. 30. Over the next two months, the Expos hovered around the .500 mark, but the ship sank when Montreal went 10-18 in the final month of play. The Expos followed up the pre-strike magic with a 66-78 showing in ‘95, effectively killing off whatever hope was left from 1994. Malone resigned at season’s end, with Jim Beattie soon taking over as GM.
Although Montreal’s record improved in 1996, attendance did not. Upset by Brochu’s fire sale from the previous off-season, fans grew disinterested in the team and slowly stopped showing up to Olympic Stadium. After averaging over 24,000 fans in 1994, the Expos’ average attendance dipped under 20,000 in 1995, and stayed there in 1996. Oh, and to add insult to injury, Moisés Alou signed with the Marlins in free agency after the season. What was the fun in watching a team fail to be on the level of their division rivals while the front office got rid of seemingly every good player?
Montreal’s 88-74 finish in ‘96 would be the last time fans saw a winning product for six years; the Expos finished under .500 every year from 1997-2001, despite the talents of players like Pedro Martínez and outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. Speaking of which, 1997 was still somewhat of a notable year for Montreal, as Martínez won the NL Cy Young Award.
After so many close finishes over the years, the Expos finally had a pitcher take home the Cy Young Award. Martínez evolved into one of the most dominant power pitchers in the game, leading both major leagues with a 1.90 ERA and 13 complete games. Unfortunately, this would be Martínez’s last year with Montreal, as he was traded to Boston during the 1997-98 off-season; Martínez would end up being the Expos’ only Cy Young winner.
Over the next few seasons, Felipe Alou watched as his club declined further and further down the standings. Guerrero was Montreal’s only All-Star from 1999-2002, winning three Silver Sluggers during this period. He was really the only bright spot, too, as matters worsened off the field.
In an effort to replace the aging Olympic Stadium, Brochu threatened to relocate the Expos if plans for a new ballpark did not materialize. Brochu proposed a 35,000-seat venue in downtown Montreal called Labatt Park, and sought $150 million in public funding for the project. Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard did not approve of the funding, however, as the province had recently been forced to close several hospitals and the debt from Olympic Stadium still had yet to be fully paid off.
Brochu would not remain as owner for much longer, selling his stake in the Expos to art collector Jeffrey Loria in late 1999. Loria announced big plans for the team, stating that the tight-spending ways of the Brochu era were coming to an end. Sure enough, Montreal’s payroll nearly doubled from 1999 to 2000, going up from just under $18 million to nearly $33 million.
Even still, the Expos finished last in attendance for the third year in a row, averaging just 11,435 fans per game in 2000. While this was happening, Loria was trying and failing to increase broadcast revenue; he could not secure a new agreement for television coverage and English radio broadcasts, as talks broke down between Loria and The Sports Network (TSN). Baseball in Montreal was dying before our very eyes, and would continue to do so in 2001.
The ‘01 season would be Alou’s last with the Expos, with Loria firing him in May after the club began the year 21-32. Things did not improve over the next several months, as Montreal went 47-62 under interim manager Jeff Torborg.
Following a 68-94 showing in 2001, the Expos and the Minnesota Twins were selected for contraction, to be eliminated after the following season. Olympic Stadium and Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome were considered outdated, and with neither team having a clear plan in place for a new ballpark, MLB decided to contract both franchises upon the completion of the 2002 campaign.
However, Hennepin County Judge Harry Crump blocked the contraction plan, stating that the Twins needed to honor their lease with the Metrodome and play out the final season of the agreement there. Seeing as there would have been an odd number of teams for 2002, MLB ultimately chose not to contract the Expos, either.
On Jan. 16, 2002, Loria sold the team to MLB for $120 million, and the league formed Expos Baseball L.P., a partnership of the other 29 clubs, to operate Montreal’s day-to-day operations for the upcoming season. Using the proceeds from the sale of the Expos, Loria bought the Marlins from John W. Henry, who then acquired the Red Sox. Baseball in Montreal had been saved, but for how long?
The Expos made the most of what was initially assumed to be their final season in Montreal. In June, the team acquired starting pitcher Bartolo Colón from the Cleveland Indians to help make a push for the postseason. Colón started 17 games for Montreal in 2002, going 10-4 with four complete games over 117 innings of work.
With Colón’s help, the Expos went 12-3 over their last 15 games, climbing to second place in the NL East. However, at 83-79, Montreal was 19 games behind the division-winning Braves, and 12 ½ back of the San Francisco Giants for the NL wild card. Despite appearing on the ballot for the NL Cy Young Award, Colón was dealt to the White Sox during the off-season. Colón was the last active MLB player to have played for the Expos, having last played in MLB for the Texas Rangers in 2018.
A new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and the MLBPA forbade contraction from happening until 2006 at the earliest, assuring Expos fans that the team was not going to contract. The situation was still dire, though, and the contraction rumors quickly turned into rumors of relocation.
MLB did not want to relocate the Expos immediately, but in 2003, the league had the team play 22 of their home games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico to try and increase revenues. Despite another 83-79 finish under second-year manager and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Montreal was still last in attendance, averaging just 12,662 fans per game. Guerrero left in free agency that off-season, signing a five-year deal with the Anaheim Angels.
The 2004 campaign saw the Expos once again split their home games between Montreal and San Juan, with relocation all but imminent. A 5-20 start to the year set the tone for the team’s final season in Montreal, as the Expos finished as the NL’s second worst team at just 67-95. As if the attendance problems could not get any worse, the Expos averaged just 9,369 fans per game in 2004, for a reported total of less than 750,000.
On Sep. 29, 2004, MLB announced that the Expos would leave Montreal after the season, announcing that the franchise would be relocating to Washington, D.C. for 2005. According to Commissioner Selig, the D.C. contingent was “very aggressive” in their pursuit of the Expos, hoping to bring baseball back to the U.S. capital for the first time in over 30 years.
Arbitrators struck down a lawsuit that was filed against the rest of the league’s owners to try and stop the move, ending any remaining hopes of the Expos staying in Canada. The owners approved of the D.C. relocation by a 28-1 vote, with Baltimore owner Peter Angelos casting the lone dissenting vote.
The night of the announcement, Montreal said goodbye to the Expos with one final game at Olympic Stadium, which resulted in a 9-1 loss against the defending champion Marlins. Four days later, the Expos ended their existence right where they had started, losing 8-1 to the Mets at Shea Stadium on Oct. 3.
During the 2004-05 off-season, the Expos officially rebranded as the Washington Nationals for the upcoming season. Youppi! did not remain with the organization, who introduced an eagle named Screech as the new mascot for 2005; that same year, Youppi! was named as the first-ever mascot for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, and has served in that position ever since.
The Nationals played three years at RFK Stadium—the home of the second Washington Senators franchise from 1962-1971 and the long-time home of the NFL team formerly known as the Washington Redskins—before opening Nationals Park in 2008.
Washington developed a core that included starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, outfielder Bryce Harper, and infielders Ryan Zimmerman and Trea Turner, leading to four NL East division titles between 2012 and 2017. In 2019, the Nationals appeared in and won the World Series for the first time, leaving the Seattle Mariners as the only active MLB franchise that has yet to reach the Fall Classic. Dave Martinez, Washington’s manager during the title run, played four seasons for the Expos from 1988-1991.
Even though it has been 20 years since the Expos’ relocation, many baseball fans still miss them. Last year, Netflix announced a documentary about the Expos, which is said to include Guerrero and then-Expos vice president David Samson, as well as some fans who did not approve of the relocation to D.C. In addition, the idea of baseball returning to Montreal has been explored in recent years, with the Tampa Bay Rays proposing to play part of their season at Olympic Stadium in 2022. This bid was ultimately rejected, but it goes to show that there is still demand for a team in Montreal all these years later.
Rest in peace, Expos. I hope I did your story justice.
