The Expos

April 1973

Riverfront Stadium was the location of the opening of the 1973 season, with the local team looking for a return to post-season action for the first time since winning the pennant in 1961. After nine days, with six games played in between, it seemed that the Reds were indeed heading for happier days, courtesy of sweeping the Expos. However, Montreal would turn things around in less than a week, sitting just two games back by the end of the second fortnight of the season.

Even four straight losses at one stage (including a 18-1 mauling at Dodger Stadium) could not shake the Expos from their proximity to the top of the division, remaining just two games behind the Phillies and Cubs. Of even greater significance was the fact that Montreal had 'only' suffered one injury - a torn elbow ligament would sideline Remy Hermoso until after the All-Star Game.

By the end of the month, the Expos had proven that though they were nowhere near championship calibre, they were certainly no slouches, with a swag of very high scoring wins to their credit:

April 22 - W 17-7 v LAD
April 25 - W 14-2 @ SDP
April 27 - W 10-0 @ SDP
April 30 - W 8-7 v SFG

Rusty Staub had an excellent month, batting .400 and driving in 27 runs, including a team-high 9 homers. Bert Blyleven went 4-3 with a tidy ERA of 2.40, while closer John Strohmayer had yet to concede a single earned run while saving three games.

There was one curious aspect about Montreal's season to date - they had yet to face a single NL East team and would not do so until June 6. The real challenges were yet to come.

National League East
1. Chicago (17-13)
2. Philadelphia (17-13)
3. Montreal (13-14)
4. Pittsburgh (11-13)
5. New York (11-16)
6. St Louis (10-20)

National League West
Cincinnati and San Francisco share the lead from Los Angeles (1.5 games)

American League East
Boston lead Baltimore by 2 games

American League West
Oakland lead California by 6 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Bert Blyleven (2.40)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (4)
Saves - John Strohmayer (3)
Average - Rusty Staub (.400)
Home Runs - Rusty Staub (9)
Stolen Bases - Toby Harrah (2)

May 1973

Montreal continued their road to recovery and respectability in May, and despite at one stage losing six in a row managed to finish the month with 12 losses and 15 wins.

Relief pitcher Bill Laxton had to be carried from Parc Jarry in an ambulance after rupturing a disc in his back while pitching against the Dodgers. Luckily for him he should only be out for two months.

Bert Blyleven continues to impress, with a 8-6 record and an ERA of 2.97. Steve Kline's performances have also been good to date, with an ERA just a shade under 4. The other outstanding contributor on the mound is John Strohmayer, who is having a career season - an ERA of 0.86 with six saves!

National League East
1. Chicago (35-19)
2. New York (31-23)
3. Philadelphia (28-24)
4. Montreal (25-29)
5. Pittsburgh (24-30)
6. St Louis (24-31)

National League West
San Francisco lead Los Angeles by 5.5 games

American League East
Boston lead Baltimore by 3 games

American League West
California lead Oakland by a game after the A's went .500 in May. Surely normal transmission will be resumed shortly?

Expos Leaders
ERA - Bert Blyleven (2.97)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (8)
Saves - John Strohmayer (6)
Average - Rusty Staub (.335)
Home Runs - Don Money (13)
Stolen Bases - Paul Powell (7)

Draft Results

1st Round - SP Theo Frearson (74/95), Baltimore MD
2nd Round - RP Hank Smalridge (64/88), Houston TX
3rd Round - SP Shane Rawley (55/96), Racine WI
4th Round - 2B Tony Ross (65/75), Atlantic City NJ
5th Round - 1B Chris Nyman (54/87), Pomona CA
6th Round - SP Jim Clancy (47/91), Chicago IL

June 1973

Tony Ross was a surprise starter against the Houston Astros just a day after his drafting by Montreal, at 18 years of age becoming the youngest Expos player. He would not get a hit at any of his three at-bats.

Montreal finally got some NL East action when the Phillies came to visit for a 6-game series. However, the visitors would have the last laugh with five wins. A twelve-game roadtrip then saw the Expos play some competitive baseball, including a sweep of the Cubs. There would also be some close-your-eyes moments, including a 5-13 loss to the Giants and a 2-15 slaughter to the Cardinals.

National League East
1. Chicago (46-33)
2. New York (46-33)
3. Philadelphia (47-35)
4. Pittsburgh (38-42)
5. St Louis (39-43)
6. Montreal (36-43)

National League West
San Francisco lead Los Angeles by 2.5 games

American League East
Boston lead Baltimore by 3 games

American League West
Oakland lead California by 3.5 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Bert Blyleven (3.77)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (12)
Saves - John Strohmayer (15)
Average - Rusty Staub (.324)
Home Runs - Rusty Staub (17)
Stolen Bases - Paul Powell (12)

July 1973

The season paused on July 9 for the All-Star Game, this time to be held at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. For the first time, an Expos player competed in the Home Run Showdown, with Le Grande Orange eventually finishing fourth behind Boston's Carlton Fisk, Detroit's Bill Freehan and Cincinnati's Johnny Bench. The next day, Staub went hitless but experienced success with the National League winning 3-1.

After the resumption of league play, the Expos continued their slow-but-steady form, although never moving off the bottom of the NL East. Montreal went 7-15 in a month where their biggest losing margin was 4 runs.

National League East
1. New York (61-40)
2. Philadelphia (60-47)
3. Chicago (57-47)
4. St Louis (52-52)
5. Pittsburgh (49-52)
6. Montreal (43-58)

National League West
San Francisco lead Los Angeles by 8.5 games.
San Diego are already eliminated with a dreadful 17-84 record.

American League East
Boston lead Baltimore by 11 games

American League West
Oakland lead California by 5 games in a race that could go down to the wire

Expos Leaders
ERA - Bert Blyleven (3.61)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (14)
Saves - John Strohmayer (20)
Average - Rusty Staub (.338)
Home Runs - Rusty Staub (19)
Stolen Bases - Paul Powell (14)

August 1973

If Montreal were to crack the .500 barrier this season, this would be the month where they made their move. And while they largely failed in this task, the results demonstrated that the Expos were continuing to build up towards becoming a regular contender.

However, in order to be a contender, they would have to learn to win on the road. Going 0-9 'in America' during the month was not a good way to finish the month, although Montreal did balance that with some solid home form, including a sweep of the Pirates and series wins against St Louis, Atlanta, New York and Chicago.

Notably, for the first time in many years, the entire playing roster was healthy and available for service.

National League East
1. New York (77-52)
2. Philadelphia (73-59)
3. Chicago (72-60)
4. St Louis (65-67)
5. Pittsburgh (61-68)
6. Montreal (54-75)

National League West
San Francisco lead Los Angeles by 12 games

American League East
Boston lead Baltimore by 14.5 games and appear to be headed back to defend their title, much to the annoyance of Yankees fans.

American League West
Oakland lead California by 9 games and appear to have baseball's weakest division in their pocket again.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (3.59)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (15)
Saves - John Strohmayer (24)
Average - Rusty Staub (.324)
Home Runs - Rusty Staub (22)
Stolen Bases - Paul Powell (21)

September-October 1973

If the Expos could not be a part of the post-season, they would still have a major role in determining just who would, with 15 games against the three contenders. Elimination from the post-season, practically a given since May, became reality on September 12. Montreal split the record during a 12-game home stand, and reduced the Mets' lead in the division from six games to four.

They would incredibly sweep the Mets at Shea Stadium after a day's break, although there would be heartache again for Bert Blyleven, who would finish his season limping into the dugout with a stress fracture to his ankle, once again denying him an opportunity for 20 wins in a season. Although he has lost 19 games, this was perhaps his best season in Montreal with an ERA of 3.64.

If the Mets sweep was great news for Phillies fans, Montreal would dash their hopes as they continued their form, keeping New York's lead at four games, helped in no small measure by Don Money hitting for the cycle. Montreal's influence on the division race ended on September 29 with a 6-4 win against Philadelphia in another three-game series, this time inside Veterans Stadium. The Expos would finish the season with nine games against the Pirates. On the same day that the Mets won the division, the Expos lifted themselves off the bottom with a 8-7 win at Three Rivers Stadium.

The season would eventually finish on October 10 with the Expos in fourth place. Their 74-88 record was a great improvement on the 1972 disaster.

NL West
1. New York (97-65)
2. Philadelphia (90-72)
3. Chicago (89-73)
4. Montreal (74-88)
5. St Louis (73-89)
6. Pittsburgh (72-90)

NL West
1. San Francisco (102-60)
2. Los Angeles (89-73)
3. Cincinnati (80-82)
4. Houston (78-84)
5. Atlanta (77-85)
6. San Diego (51-111)

AL East
1. Boston (109-53)
2. Baltimore (93-69)
3. Detroit (86-76)
4. New York (86-76)
5. Cleveland (72-90)
6. Milwaukee (49-113)

AL West
1. Oakland (109-53)
2. California (99-63)
3. Chicago (78-84)
4. Minnesota (74-88)
5. Texas (63-99)
6. Kansas City (54-108)

Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead. That was the first thing that came to mind following the New York Mets' victory over San Francisco in the League Championship, denying the Giants a fifth straight trip to the World Series. With the Angels improving dramatically this year, could this spell the end to the Giants' dominance of recent years?

Giddy on their success, the Mets would be no match for the Red Sox, who secured their second title in as many years in a 4-1 series result.

Code:

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1973 Batting            Team    G  AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR  BB    K  SB  CS    R  RBI  SLG  OBP
Luebber, Steve            MON    0 1.000    3    3  0  0  0    1    0    0  0    1    0 1.000 1.000
Hacker, Rich              MON    6  .333    12    4  1  1  0    1    2    0  0    0    0  .583  .385
Staub, Rusty              MON  162  .322  627  202  36  1  24  85  73    2  1  100  101  .498  .403
Powell, Paul              MON  159  .317  653  207  36  3  15  86  123  24  9  115  67  .450  .395
Evans, Dwight            MON  150  .276  554  153  25  1  26  94  92    2  1  78  106  .466  .377
Broberg, Pete            MON    2  .273    11    3  0  0  0    0    2    0  0    2    0  .273  .273
Money, Don                MON  156  .260  599  156  34  3  22  67  90    4  1  69  94  .437  .335
Harrah, Toby              MON  140  .255  548  140  25  6  13  88  66  14  11  81  57  .394  .358
Lane, Marvin              MON  132  .251  291  73  13  4  10  37  63    0  0  40  34  .426  .342
Ballinger, Mark          MON    0  .250    4    1  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    1    0  .250  .250
Jestadt, Garry            MON  57  .240    75  18  6  0  0    6  14    1  0    7    7  .320  .305
Nettles, Graig            MON  147  .233  468  109  10  0  17  57  62    2  2  44  69  .363  .315
Hermoso, Remy            MON  89  .230  326  75  15  0  0  16  59    2  1  30  16  .276  .268
Stanley, Fred            MON  83  .217  207  45  3  0  0  31  31    1  1  17    6  .232  .322
Kline, Steve              MON  39  .213    94  20  0  0  0    2  25    0  0    2    3  .213  .227
Munson, Thurman          MON  156  .175  600  105  10  1  9  29  73    1  1  34  53  .240  .211
Ross, Tony                MON  21  .157    70  11  1  0  0    3    7    0  0    7    0  .171  .203
Bateman, John            MON  30  .146    41    6  1  0  1    4    4    0  0    3    5  .244  .217
Dawson, Andre            MON    8  .143    7    1  0  0  0    1    3    0  0    0    0  .143  .250
Blyleven, Bert            MON  38  .141    99  14  0  0  0    4  41    0  0    4    4  .141  .173
Renko, Steve              MON  41  .129    85  11  0  0  0    2  27    0  0    1    3  .129  .149
Rogers, Steve            MON    6  .050    20    1  0  0  0    1  10    0  0    0    1  .050  .095
Stoneman, Bill            MON  36  .048    63    3  0  0  0    6  34    1  0    6    0  .048  .130
McConnell, Josh          MON    7  .000    18    0  0  0  0    1    3    0  0    1    0  .000  .053
Laxton, Bill              MON    0  .000    4    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    2    0  .000  .000
McGinn, Dan              MON    0  .000    8    0  0  0  0    1    4    0  0    0    0  .000  .111

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Code:

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1973 Pitching            Team    IP  ERA    G  GS  W  L  SV    K  BB  R/9
Blyleven, Bert            MON  294.1  3.64  38  38  17  19  0  237  98 11.59
Kline, Steve              MON  275.1  3.46  39  39  16  15  0  111  70 10.07
Stoneman, Bill            MON  219.1  4.68  36  36  11  12  0  169  133 13.71
Renko, Steve              MON  252.0  5.50  41  41  8  18  0  158  136 14.64
Laxton, Bill              MON  62.2  4.16  43  0  6  2  6  43  43 13.36
McGinn, Dan              MON  69.2  5.94  45  0  5  5  2  50  44 16.67
Broberg, Pete            MON  68.0  4.10  35  2  3  3  2  35  44 14.56
Luebber, Steve            MON  73.2  6.60  51  0  3  6  1  39  41 16.49
Strohmayer, John          MON  41.2  3.46  41  0  2  3  30  23  22 12.31
Rogers, Steve            MON  51.2  7.49  14  6  2  4  0  32  32 18.46
Ballinger, Mark          MON  22.1  8.06  16  0  1  1  0  17    8 16.12
Todd, Jackson            MON    5.2 14.29    4  0  0  0  0    3    1 17.47
Adamson, Mike            MON    1.0  9.00    1  0  0  0  0    1    3 36.00

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Off-Season Activities
Attendance - 1,740,159 (average of 21,483 per game)
Profit - $67,000
Cash - $1,848,246
Franchise Value - $14.8M
Farm System Rating - D
Medical Staff Rating - C-
Scouting Staff Rating - D+
Team Payroll/Budget - $4.14M/$3.03M
Average Age of Team - 23.6 (youngest in major leagues - next youngest are the Mets at 27.2)

Awards
Steve Kline was awarded the NL Pitcher Gold Glove with a fielding average of .986

Player Movements
C Thurman Munson (84) resigned for $185,000 at Arbitration
1B Rusty Staub (91) resigned for $365,000 over four seasons with a player option and no-trade clause
SS Remy Hermoso (78) resigned for $230,000 at Arbitration
3B Toby Harrah (87/93) resigned for $300,000 at Arbitration
SS Don Money (92/93) resigned for $354,000 over four seasons with a player option
CF Paul Powell (86/92) resigned for $350,000 at Arbitration
C John Bateman (69) declined his player option to renew his contract and was released
LF Graig Nettles (80) resigned for $266,000 at Arbitration
2B Garry Jestadt (69) was released without a contract offered
3B Ken Reitz (55/80) was released without a contract offered
SP Bert Blyleven (87/91) resigned for $400,000 at Arbitration
SP Steve Kline (85) resigned for $368,000 over three seasons with a player option
SP Steve Renko (89) resigned for $306,000 at Arbitration
SP Bill Stoneman (85) resigned for $302,000 over two seasons with a player option
SP Steve Rogers (82) was released without a contract offered
RP John Strohmayer (83) resigned for $200,000 at Arbitration
RP Bill Laxton (81/86) resigned for $200,000 at Arbitration
RP Dan McGinn (67) was released without a contract offered

The emphasis in 1974 will be to see whether the Expos can continue their development with a stable roster. Despite doubling our funding in developmental areas, we are still one of the lowest-spending teams in the league, although our payroll has blown out in recent times.

Your 1974 Montreal Expos
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...e000990829.jpg

Line-up
For the first time, the Expos return all eight starters.
CF - Paul Powell (87/93)
3B - Toby Harrah (86/93)
1B - Rusty Staub (90)
RF - Dwight Evans (93/95)
2B - Don Money (93/94)
LF - Graig Nettles (80)
C - Thurman Munson (81)
SS - Remy Hermoso (77)

Bench
C - James Kendricks (57/66)
IF - Fred Stanley (72)
LF - Marvin Lane (77/81)
2B - Bob Sheldon (67/71)
IF - Tony Ross (57/67)
RF - Josh McConnell (63/70)

Rotation
1. Bert Blyleven (87/92)
2. Steve Kline (86)
3. Steve Renko (89)
4. Bill Stoneman (87)

Bullpen
Mopup - Pete Broberg (77/84)
Closer - John Strohmayer (83)
Setup - Bill Laxton (81)
Short - Steve Luebber (78/82)
Short - Mark Ballinger (74)
Middle - Jackson Todd (71/83)
Long - Hank Smalridge (60/81)

Notable Prospects
A
SP - Jackson Todd (66/84)
R
OF - Andre Dawson (67/89)
1B - Pete Lacock (57/81)
SP - Bill Travers (55/96)
SP - Shane Rawley (50/89)
SP - Jim Clancy (48/91)

Predicitions
1. New York (98-64)
2. Chicago (87-75)
3. Pittsburgh (82-80)
4. Philadelphia (81-81)
5. St Louis (74-88)
6. Montreal (70-92)

AMERICAN LEAGUE - Oakland over Baltimore in 4 games
NATIONAL LEAGUE - New York over Los Angeles in 5 games
WORLD SERIES - New York over Oakland in 7 games

April 1974

With just six games at Parc Jarry in April, it would be quite difficult for the Expos to get off to a fast start in 1974. However, after starting 7-4 Montreal suddenly had a share of the lead in the NL East. The results soon started to turn against Rusty Staub's young team, although at least this year they would not have to wait until June before playing a team from their own division.

NL East
1. Philadelphia (17-10)
2. New York (15-9)
3. Chicago (15-12)
4. Montreal (12-15)
5. Pittsburgh (12-15)
6. St Louis (10-17)

NL West - Houston lead by a game from Los Angeles and San Francisco
AL East - Boston hit the ground running at 22-7, four clear of the Tigers
AL West - California lead Chicago by 2. Oakland have started 13-14.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Bert Blyleven (3.02)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (3)
Saves - John Strohmayer (3)
Average - Paul Powell (.322)
Home Runs - Toby Harrah (5)
Stolen Bases - Paul Powell (5)

May 1974

Bert Blyleven earned a contract extension at the start of the month and will now stay in Montreal at least until the end of the 1976 season.

May would be a baseball fan's dream in Montreal, with the Expos playing at Parc Jarry on all but seven days of the month - three of which were rest days. The fans who regularly came to watch the play would be baffled as to why the Expos could not build any consistency - a 12-16 record for the month, 11-13 at home. They also saw the team's ERA creep up past 5.00 for the first time this season. In fact, the Expos would only record one shutout during this month.

NL East
1. New York (38-14)
2. Philadelphia (37-18)
3. Chicago (27-27)
4. Pittsburgh (26-29)
5. Montreal (24-31)
6. St Louis (24-33)

NL West - San Francisco lead the Dodgers, with the other teams under .500. San Diego are on track for 60 wins for the first time in franchise history.
AL East - A contest this year! Perhaps! Boston lead the Tigers by a single game, with the Yankees not far behind
AL West - California lead Oakland and Chicago by 2.5 games.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (3.96)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (6)
Saves - John Strohmayer (4)
Average - Rusty Staub (.313)
Home Runs - Toby Harrah (11)
Stolen Bases - Toby Harrah (5)

Draft Choices

1st Round - SP Devon Fleck (76/90), Jefferson PA
2nd Round - C Harris Burcham (69/77), Rochester NY
3rd Round - LF Tony Johnson (55/86), Memphis TN
4th Round - SP Charlie Lea (52/84), Orleans France
5th Round - 2B Tony Bernazard (54/80), Caguas, Puetro Rico
6th Round - P Scott Sanderson (51/81), Dearborn MI

June 1974
June would see the Expos play at home on just three occasions. Therefore only a few hardy supporters would witness the first ever Expos no-hitter, thrown by Renko at Riverside Stadium on June 2. During the same game, Don Money hit for the cycle, thus creating two slices of history for the Montreal club. Generally speaking the Expos performed well on the road without excelling, and the end of the month found themselves 20 games behind the Phillies.

NL East
1. Philadelphia (56-26)
2. New York (55-26)
3. Chicago (45-37)
4. Pittsburgh (42-40)
5. Montreal (34-45)
6. St Louis (29-52)

NL West - San Francisco lead Los Angeles by 1.5 games, while San Diego is off the bottom of the table for the first time ever.
AL East - Boston lead the Yankees by 8 games
AL West - Oakland lead California by 2 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (3.42)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (7)
Saves - John Strohmayer (6)
Average - Rusty Staub (.318)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (17)
Stolen Bases - Toby Harrah (8)

July-August 1974
Rusty Staub got a return invitation to the All-Star Game, held in Pittsburgh. Representing the National League for the fifth time in his career, he went 3/4 and scored two runs in the NL's 5-3 win.

July turned out to be a major disappointment for the Expos, winning just 7 games and remaining a second tier team in the National League. August, on the other hand, saw some strong play from the Expos, and despite the absence of Rusty Staub due to a broken finger, the team performed well. Included in the results were series victories against the Mets (x 2) and Pirates.

Dwight Evans continued to show his improvement this season, having secured a starting position at the beginning of the year. He is currently batting .330 with 30 home runs and 113 RBIs.

The Expos dream of a post-season spot ended officially on August 31. They would instead turn their attention to becoming the spoiler in the division race between the Phillies and Mets.

NL East
1. Philadelphia (86-46)
2. New York (82-50)
3. Pittsburgh (66-60)
4. Chicago (68-63)
5. Montreal (53-76)
6. St Louis (53-82)

NL West - San Francisco continue to head off the Dodgers, by 5.5 games
AL East - Boston continue their dominance, leading Detroit by 13.5 games
AL West - Oakland have timed their run to perfection, and now lead California by 7.5 games. Time is running out for the Angels.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (3.44)
Wins - Bert Blyleven (11)
Saves - John Strohmayer (12)
Average - Dwight Evans (.330)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (30)
Stolen Bases - Paul Powell (13)

September-October 1974
A dreadful 2-10 start to the month meant that the Expos would be certain of finishing the season with another poor losing record. The 82-80 season of 1971 seemed so long ago now. At least the fans would look forward to the state-of-the-art Stade Olympique opening in a couple of years.

Montreal eventually finished the last 33 days of the season with just nine wins, and lost their 100th game of the season on their last regular season game, in typical fashion. Trailing the Giants by 2 runs with the bases loaded, the Expos went down swinging, with Evans, Dawson and then Munson consigning the 1974 season to the history books.

NL East
1. Philadelphia (107-55)
2. New York (98-64)
3. Chicago (88-74)
4. Pittsburgh (78-84)
5. St Louis (65-97)
6. Montreal (62-100)

NL West
1. San Francisco (102-60)
2. Los Angeles (94-68)
3. Houston (77-85)
4. Cincinnati (74-88)
5. Atlanta (68-94)
6. San Diego (59-103)

AL East
1. Boston (104-58)
2. Detroit (92-70)
3. New York (89-73)
4. Baltimore (82-80)
5. Cleveland (67-95)
6. Milwaukee (59-103)

AL West
1. Oakland (103-59)
2. California (94-68)
3. Minnesota (84-78)
4. Chicago (82-80)
5. Texas (64-98)
6. Kansas City (52-110)

AMERICAN LEAGUE - Oakland beat Boston 3-0
NATIONAL LEAGUE - Philadelphia beat San Francisco 3-1
WORLD SERIES - Oakland beat Philadelphia 4-3

The Phillies' fairytale run through the World Series (their first apperance since 1950) ended in heartbreak, with the Athletics - the former Philadelphia AL club - shutting out the Phillies in the final two games at Veterans Stadium. It is the Oakland club's third World Series title in five years, previously winning in 1970 and 1971. The American League has now won the last five World Series titles, with San Francisco the last NL victor in 1969.

Code:

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1974 Batting            Team    G  AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR  BB    K  SB  CS    R  RBI  SLG  OBP
Harrah, Toby              MON  153  .269  616  166  17  2  25  84  75  13  8  104  99  .425  .363
Evans, Dwight            MON  157  .321  589  189  41  7  34  101  93    6  3  114  123  .587  .419
Money, Don                MON  134  .259  553  143  26  4  20  37  75    4  3  63  91  .429  .304
Munson, Thurman          MON  146  .187  552  103  20  0  4  45  80    2  1  41  38  .245  .254
Powell, Paul              MON  126  .264  522  138  26  2  12  69  94  17  5  81  55  .391  .351
Staub, Rusty              MON  120  .303  502  152  33  1  13  45  50    2  0  80  55  .450  .360
Nettles, Graig            MON  146  .265  442  117  11  1  16  45  55    1  1  57  67  .403  .333
Lane, Marvin              MON  134  .265  359  95  16  4  7  43  70    8  1  43  37  .390  .344
Sheldon, Bob              MON  96  .249  333  83  15  3  0  21  62    7  1  26  25  .312  .299
Hermoso, Remy            MON  105  .226  332  75  9  1  1  12  81    3  1  26  29  .268  .257
Lynn, Fred                MON  95  .222  225  50  11  4  8  18  40    0  1  29  39  .413  .282
Stanley, Fred            MON  70  .209  139  29  4  0  0  11  26    0  0    8    5  .237  .267
Blyleven, Bert            MON  43  .066  106    7  0  0  0    0  45    0  0    3    1  .066  .066
Renko, Steve              MON  41  .167    78  13  0  0  0    3  25    0  0    6    4  .167  .198
Kline, Steve              MON  36  .169    77  13  0  0  0    1  24    0  0    3    5  .169  .177
Stoneman, Bill            MON  30  .058    52    3  1  0  0    3  29    0  0    4    0  .077  .109
Carter, Gary              MON  38  .082    49    4  1  0  0    5    7    0  0    5    5  .102  .182
Burcham, Harris          MON  17  .200    35    7  1  0  0    2    8    0  0    3    3  .229  .243
Blair, Dennis            MON  11  .000    24    0  0  0  0    1  10    0  0    0    3  .000  .037
Dawson, Andre            MON  11  .333    12    4  2  1  0    1    4    0  0    1    1  .667  .467
Ballinger, Mark          MON    0  .000    8    0  0  0  0    0    3    0  0    0    1  .000  .000
Hacker, Rich              MON    8  .143    7    1  0  0  0    0    3    0  0    1    0  .143  .143
LaCock, Pete              MON    4  .000    7    0  0  0  0    3    0    1  0    1    0  .000  .364
Broberg, Pete            MON    0  .000    7    0  0  0  0    0    3    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Rhoden, Rick              MON    1  .000    4    0  0  0  0    1    2    0  0    0    0  .000  .200
Roenicke, Gary            MON    1  .000    3    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Smalridge, Hank          MON    0  .000    3    0  0  0  0    1    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .250
Luebber, Steve            MON    0  .500    2    1  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .500  .500
Ross, Tony                MON    3  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
McConnell, Josh          MON    1 1.000    1    1  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0 1.000 1.000
Strohmayer, John          MON    0  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    1    0  .000  .000
Laxton, Bill              MON    0  .000    1    0  0  0  0    1    0    0  0    0    1  .000  .500

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Code:

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1974 Pitching            Team    IP  ERA    G  GS  W  L  SV    K  BB  R/9
Blyleven, Bert            MON  322.1  4.22  43  43  14  21  0  216  122 11.78
Renko, Steve              MON  260.1  5.36  41  41  7  21  0  173  131 13.62
Kline, Steve              MON  242.2  3.75  36  36  12  12  0  83  60 11.76
Stoneman, Bill            MON  176.0  5.16  30  30  7  13  0  135  92 13.86
Laxton, Bill              MON  91.2  5.01  77  0  9  7  4  77  59 13.94
Blair, Dennis            MON  80.0  8.55  15  11  1  6  0  29  50 17.55
Broberg, Pete            MON  73.0  5.55  43  0  3  7  1  41  53 17.88
Luebber, Steve            MON  66.0  6.95  46  0  2  2  2  32  55 16.50
Ballinger, Mark          MON  59.0  3.97  37  0  2  1  3  43  18 10.83
Strohmayer, John          MON  43.1  3.12  33  0  5  5  15  19  16 10.38
Smalridge, Hank          MON  23.0  9.78  17  0  0  4  1  13  15 20.35
Rhoden, Rick              MON  17.1  9.35    5  1  0  1  0    6  11 18.17

---

Off-Season Activities
Attendance - 1,729,026 (average of 21,346 per game)
Loss - $568,000
Cash - $1,279,155
Franchise Value - $22.9M
Farm System Rating - C-
Medical Staff Rating - C-
Scouting Staff Rating - D+
Team Payroll/Budget - $4.16M/$5.05M
Average Age of Team - 24.6 (youngest in major leagues - next youngest are the Mets at 27.7 - at least we're getting older)

Awards
Don Money was awarded the NL Shortstop Gold Glove for 1974

Player Movements
C Thurman Munson (81) resigned for $210,000 at Arbitration
3B Toby Harrah (90/93) resigned for $425,000 at Arbitration
LF Marvin Lane (82/85) resigned for $225,000 at Arbitration
CF Paul Powell (86/90) resigned for $344,000 at Arbitration
RF Dwight Evans (93/94) resigned for $470,000 at Arbitration
2B Remy Hermoso (77) released without a contract offered
LF Graig Nettles (78) resigned for three years at $246,000
SS Rich Hacker (66) released without a contract offered
1B Pete Lacock (58/81) released without a contract offered
SP Steve Renko (89) resigned for $285,000 at Arbitration
RP John Strohmayer (80) resigned for $210,000 at Arbitration
RP Bill Laxton (79) resigned for $208,000 at Arbitration
RP Steve Luebber (83) resigned for $150,000 at Arbitration
SP Pete Broberg (77/84) released without a contract offered
RP Mark Ballinger (75) released without a contract offered

Trade Movement

Expos Get - RP Larry Anderson (74/94) and $500,000
Dodgers Get - C Gary Carter (75/88) and SP Jackson Todd (62/81)

Expos Get - RP Jamie Easterly (71/90)
Braves Get - LF Graig Nettles (78) and $450,000

Expos Get - C Milt May (85) and $50,000
Pirates Get - C Thurman Munson (81), SS Fred Stanley (74) and RP Jake Gibson (50/77)

In retrospect, it wasn't such a difficult decision to get rid of Munson. May was simply younger, cheaper and - we believe - better. Although Munson was the solid catcher we needed at the time, he simply hasn't progressed since coming north of the border, and only batted .175 and .187 in his last two seasons here.

Another trade saw two underperforming pitchers traded for an up-and-coming star. Oh, and a whole lot of cash as well.

Expos Get - SP Jerry Reuss (90/93) and $350,000
Cardinals Get - SP Steve Renko (88), RP Bill Laxton (79), RP Joe Kerrigan (63/83) and Hank Smalridge (60/80)

With Reuss eligible for free agency at the end of the season, we took a gamble and signed him up for four seasons at $365,000.

The other major news of the off-season came on November 26, when outfield Dwight Evans put his name on a new four-year contract worth $725,000 each season. There is also the opportunity for Evans to extend his stay right up until the end of the 1981 season. The 23-year old was also savvy enough to request a no-trade clause built into his contract, after seeing more than a few players sweep through the Expos in his short career.

Predicitions for 1975
1. New York (98-64)
2. Philadelphia (88-74)
3. Chicago (81-81)
4. Pittsburgh (77-85)
5. St Louis (75-87)
6. Montreal (73-89)

AMERICAN LEAGUE - Oakland to beat Detroit in 3 games
NATIONAL LEAGUE - Los Angeles to beat New York in 5 games
WORLD SERIES - Oakland to beat Los Angeles in 6 games

http://www.sonsofsamhorn.net/wiki/im...50px-Expos.jpg

Line-up
CF - Paul Powell (87)
3B - Toby Harrah (91/94)
1B - Rusty Staub (88)
RF - Dwight Evans (93/94)
SS - Don Money (93)
LF - Marvin Lane (82)
C - Milt May (86)
2B - Bob Sheldon (80/82)

Bench
C - Harris Burcham (57/62)
OF - Andre Dawson (75/93)
OF - Fred Lynn (78/93)
LF - Gary Roenike (52/79)
RF - Mark Webster (47/57)
C - James Kendricks (48/57)

Rotation
1. Bert Blyleven (92/93)
2. Steve Kline (85)
3. Jerry Reuss (89/92)
4. Bill Stoneman (78)

Bullpen
Mopup - Theo Frearson (64/82)
Closer - John Strohmayer (74)
Setup - Steve Luebber (84)
Short - Larry Anderson (74/93)
Short - Jamie Easterly (72/89)
Middle - Bill Travers (63/93)
Long - Dennis Blair (71/84)

April 1975

With the Stade Olympique slowly taking shape, the Expos began the season on the road, where two close losses and a big win to the Giants could be considered a success. Jerry Reuss performed well on his debut, allowing just three hits and no earned runs in a game eventually won in extra innings by San Francisco. San Diego were the first visitors to Parc Jarry and duly lost two of the three games played. Montreal fans could feel happy with the 3-3 start, although they would miss Reuss for the rest of the month with a pulled groin, which Expos officials were quick to point out was an injury sustained on the field and not in the middle of the night!

Montreal continued to buck the expectations set by the media, winning at least one game in each series during the month before being swept by Atlanta in a home series were the locals were outscored by 36 runs to 12. Although closing pitcher Strohmayer had three saves to his credit, he also had four losses to his name, all of which were close losses where Kline, Blyleven and Reuss saw their good work squandered.

John Strohmayer was packed off to the Phillies with Steve Luebber and $500,000 in return for closer Mac Scarce. The Expos fans hoped his ERA lived up to his name.

NL East
1. Philadelphia (19-8)
2. New York (16-11)
3. St Louis (15-12)
4. Chicago (15-14)
5. Pittsburgh (13-17)
6. Montreal (11-16)

NL West - Los Angeles lead Cincinnati by 2 games
AL East - Baltimore lead Boston and the surprising Indians by 1 game
AL West - California lead Oakland by half a game

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (1.83)
Wins - Steve Kline (3)
Saves - John Strohmayer (3 - traded to Philadelphia on April 30)
Average - Rusty Staub (.297)
Home Runs - Milt May (4)
Stolen Bases - Toby Harrah (1)

May 1975

Pitching trouble dominated the Expos this month, with starters Blyleven, Stoneman and mopup pitcher Blair sitting out for extended periods with injury. The good news was that they didn't have to travel far, with just two away series at Houston and San Francisco planned this month. In fact, the Expos would play just ten games on the road between now and the end of June.

Despite Parc Jarry being sold out each and every night through May, the Expos generally failed to live up to expectations, and went through the month winning just eight games, and giving up more than ten runs on six occasions.

By the end of the month, Montreal had the worst record in the Major Leagues.
Again.

NL East
1. New York (34-20)
2. Phialdelphia (30-23)
3. Chicago (29-25)
4. Pittsburgh (28-27)
5. St Louis (26-29)
6. Montreal (19-36)

NL West - Los Angeles lead San Francisco by a half game
AL East - Baltimore also lead Boston by a half game
AL West - California lead Oakland by three games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Jerry Reuss (2.61)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (5)
Saves - Mac Scarce (7 - all for the Phillies)
Average - Rusty Staub (.341)
Home Runs - Toby Harrah (9)
Stolen Bases - Paul Powell (3)

Draft Choices
3B Rob Teal (67/84) - Syracuse NY
SS Harry Chappas (64/84) - Mount Rainier MD
1B Chris Smith (49/88) - Torrance CA
P David Palmer (48/84) - Glens Falls NY
P Rick Engle (49/81) - Corbin KY
P Tom Gorman (53/76) - Portland OR

June 1975
With Bob Sheldon out for a week with injury, rookie Rob Teal was injected at the bottom of the batting order with strict orders to 'not do anything stupid'. Although his batting and on-base average were deplorable, it seemed the rookie's enthusiasm was a big factor in Montreal starting the month 5-3.

The momentum kept rolling on during the month, with Pittsburgh, San Francisco, New York and Chicago all leaving Parc Jarry without series victories. Cincinnati were swept inside their own stadium. Even though the Cubs would later come back and take all of the games against Montreal, June was a positive month overall, with the team seemingly firing on all cylinders.

The most positive thing in the eyes of the Expos fans was that they could say - with pride - "We're Number Five!"

NL East
1. New York (52-27)
2. Philadelphia (42-37)
3. Chicago (42-40)
4. St Louis (37-47)
5. Montreal (33-46)
6. Pittsburgh (34-48)

NL West - Still tight at the top, with the Giants just pipping the Dodgers
AL East - Boston lead Baltimore by 6.5 games
AL West - California lead Minnesota by 4.5 games. Oakland sit 7 behind.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Jerry Reuss (2.65)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (10)
Saves - Mac Scarce (13 - 7 for Philly)
Average - Rusty Staub (.330)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (14)
Stolen Bases - Toby Harrah (4)

July 1975

Don Money went off to the All-Star Game in Milwaukee but had an unhappy night along with the rest of the National League (1-6 losers).

The month was characterised by excellent home form, deplorable results on the road, and audacious trade offers - Atlanta tried to get their grubby hands on Rusty Staub for barely nothing.

What seemed to be hurting the Expos to most was their record in close games - their 12-19 record in one-run games was the worst in the National League, while they had only won 5 of 13 extra-inning games. Their home record to date (30-33) was the only losing record in their division, and certainly paled into insignificance compared with the Mets' 39-9 record inside Shea Stadium.

NL East
1. New York (65-36)
2. Philadelphia (57-42)
3. Chicago (55-51)
4. St Louis (45-60)
5. Montreal (42-61)
6. Pittsburgh (42-63)

NL West - San Francisco and Los Angeles are tied at the top
AL East - Baltimore and Boston are seperated by just a half game
AL West - Oakland and California are tied, with Minnesota just a step behind.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (2.93)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (10)
Saves - Mac Scarce (15)
Average - Rusty Staub (.301)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (20)
Stolen Bases - Toby Harrah (7)

Right on the trade deadline, a deal was worked out with the Yankees. With the Expos steadily losing money and operating far above their payroll budget, it was time to take some preventative measures.

Expos Get - 3B George Brett (88/95) and $100,000
Yankees Get - LF Marvin Lane (84), 2B Tony Bernazard (50/77), SP Bill Stoneman (76) and SP Bill Travers (69/89)

August 1975

"We're Number Six - Again!"

August was a disastrous month for the Expos, with a ten game losing streak on the road severely affecting team morale and confidence. Rumours swept through the newspapers about players demanding to be traded or released from their contract. Another bigger rumour doing the rounds - and potentially very harmful to the Expos - was the prospect of the American League admitting a team from Toronto for the following season. The consequences - sharing a nation's media, sponsorship, fan base with another team, and a Toronto team at that - could be fatal for the Expos, who were still trying to keep their heads above water.

Perhaps with this in mind, the Expos proceeded to peel off a seven game winning streak to close the month, with sweeps of the Astros and Phillies at Parc Jarry. However, they were already eliminated from contention, that day falling on August 28, due largely to the excellent form of the Mets.

NL East
1. New York (86-43)
2. Philadelphia (70-59)
3. Chicago (68-63)
4. St Louis (60-69)
5. Pittsburgh (55-77)
6. Montreal (53-79)

NL West - The Dodgers have broken the Giants' back and lead by 8
AL East - Baltimore lead Boston by 2 in a tight race
AL West - Oakland have restored the status quo and lead the Angels by 4.5 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (3.18)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (13)
Saves - Mac Scare (18)
Average - Toby Harrah (.297)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (28)
Stolen Bases - Toby Harrah (13)

September-October 1975

The Expos would finish their seventh season mostly on the road, with just two series against the second-placed Phillies to whet the appetites of the Montreal public. It was looking more and more likely that Montreal would finish the season slightly in the red and would have to trade off the more expensive parts of their team, or reduce funding to their developmental department, which - it had to be said - was not really doing its job.

In the end, with the budget slashed by $400,000, the Expos finished with just $136,940 in the bank. In a short but terse statement, the management stated that with a move to Stade Olympique just around the corner, the fortunes of the Expos would also surely improve. However, they could not and would not continue to pay underachieving players massive money just to play for the 'Pos.

For most of the baseball universe, however, their focus was centred on the AL East where a most exciting division race was nearing its conclusion. Baltimore finished their schedule six days before the Red Sox, setting them the target of 5 wins in 6 games against the Tigers at Fenway Park to win the title. This they duly did, with one game to spare. For the first time in the divisional format, a 100-win team would miss the post-season.

NL East
1. New York (110-52)
2. Chicago (85-77)
3. Philadelphia (82-80)
4. St Louis (77-85)
5. Pittsburgh (69-93)
6. Montreal (64-98)

NL West
1. Los Angeles (99-63)
2. San Francisco (95-67)
3. Atlanta (81-81)
4. Cincinnati (74-88)
5. Houston (69-93)
6. San Diego (67-95)

AL East
1. Boston (106-56)
2. Baltimore (105-57)
3. Cleveland (87-75)
4. New York (81-81)
5. Detroit (79-83)
6. Milwaukee (45-117)

AL West
1. Oakland (97-65)
2. Califronia (89-73)
3. Minnesota (84-78)
4. Texas (78-84)
5. Chicago (68-94)
6. Kansas City (53-109)

Both of the League Championships went to a deciding fifth game, with the home side winning each encounter by a solitary run.

It would be the New York Mets that shocked the world on October 28 as they swept the Red Sox in four straight games. It is the first World Series for the 'Amazing Mets', who had previously lost it all in 1973, incidentally also to the Red Sox.

Code:

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1975 Batting            Team    G  AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR  BB    K  SB  CS    R  RBI  SLG  OBP
Powell, Paul              MON  155  .218  641  140  33  2  11  70  140    8  4  91  56  .328  .296
Staub, Rusty              MON  156  .285  610  174  31  2  15  66  76    2  1  74  96  .416  .357
Harrah, Toby              MON  146  .285  578  165  28  5  22  94  65  20  6  117  68  .465  .388
Evans, Dwight            MON  154  .312  571  178  36  6  35  100  100    3  6  111  107  .580  .414
Money, Don                MON  134  .272  537  146  23  4  26  60  70    5  2  87  89  .475  .345
May, Milt                MON  135  .235  515  121  20  0  18  45  72    1  0  53  71  .379  .299
Brett, George            MON  109  .239  426  102  28  3  7  41  44    6  4  45  52  .369  .304
Lynn, Fred                MON  139  .212  396  84  21  1  7  61  71    6  4  42  51  .323  .317
Sheldon, Bob              MON  116  .227  344  78  13  5  0  16  70    0  0  26  28  .294  .268
Reuss, Jerry              MON  38  .179    95  17  1  0  0    4  35    1  0    8    7  .189  .208
Blyleven, Bert            MON  34  .120    92  11  0  0  0    3  41    0  0    8    2  .120  .146
Burcham, Harris          MON  44  .124    89  11  1  1  1    6  20    1  0    7    5  .191  .202
Kline, Steve              MON  34  .084    83    7  0  0  0    3  32    0  0    2    2  .084  .115
Gessler, Darryl          MON  32  .159    82  13  2  0  0    3  22    1  0    2    6  .183  .186
Ross, Tony                MON  22  .146    82  12  3  0  0    7  13    0  0    3    3  .183  .220
Dawson, Andre            MON  71  .227    66  15  1  1  2    6    7    2  1    5  12  .364  .307
Teal, Rob                MON  31  .127    55    7  0  0  0    3  21    0  0    3    2  .127  .172
Blair, Dennis            MON  19  .122    41    5  0  0  0    0  23    0  0    3    1  .122  .122
Rhoden, Rick              MON  18  .146    41    6  2  0  0    3  10    0  1    1    0  .195  .205
Frearson, Theo            MON    5  .385    13    5  1  0  0    2    3    0  0    3    0  .462  .467
Kendricks, James          MON  12  .125    8    1  1  0  0    1    2    0  0    0    1  .250  .222
Fleck, Devon              MON    3  .000    8    0  0  0  0    1    2    0  0    0    0  .000  .111
Easterly, Jamie          MON    0  .333    6    2  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .333  .333
Anderson, Larry          MON    0  .167    6    1  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    1  .167  .167
Webster, Mark            MON    4  .000    4    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Adamson, Mike            MON    0  .000    4    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Sutton, John              MON    0  .000    2    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Roenicke, Gary            MON    1  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Scarce, Mac              MON    0 1.000    1    1  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0 1.000 1.000

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Code:

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1975 Pitching            Team    IP  ERA    G  GS  W  L  SV    K  BB  R/9
Reuss, Jerry              MON  285.1  3.19  38  38  16  4  0  167  94 11.23
Blyleven, Bert            MON  256.1  4.60  34  34  12  18  0  198  112 12.99
Kline, Steve              MON  245.1  3.45  34  34  13  12  0  84  75 10.60
Blair, Dennis            MON  126.1  6.91  21  19  4  12  0  67  108 18.52
Rhoden, Rick              MON  118.1  8.06  20  18  2  13  0  60  77 18.71
Easterly, Jamie          MON  80.0  5.85  62  0  6  9  4  34  52 16.54
Anderson, Larry          MON  70.1  5.25  44  0  5  5  1  52  34 13.82
Frearson, Theo            MON  44.1  9.74    9  5  0  5  0  30  20 20.50
Sutton, John              MON  42.0  2.79  35  0  1  1  0  28  18 13.29
Scarce, Mac              MON  35.0  2.31  35  0  3  4  22  22    8  6.94
Fleck, Devon              MON  33.1 11.34  11  3  0  4  0  16  27 22.41
Adamson, Mike            MON  23.0  5.48  11  0  0  0  0  21  16 17.61
Gorman, Tom              MON    4.0  6.75    3  0  0  0  0    1    4 22.50
Sanderson, Scott          MON    2.1  3.86    2  0  1  0  0    3    1 11.57

---

Off-Season Activity

The Expos were recognised in the end of season awards, with a record three players scoring golden gloves - Milt May, Bob Sheldon and Dwight Evans.

Third baseman Toby Harrah had given solid service to the Expos since joining from the Senators in 1970, although never batting any higher .280. However, his request for a six-year contract worth a total of $3.6 million was cutting it a bit fine, especially considering that Montreal were walking a fiscal tightrope.

The best we could do was offer a two-season contract with a slight payrise. He shook hands and wished us the best in 1976, and eventually got his fat contract with the Texas Rangers.

The only other player on the entire roster whose contract was up was centre-fielder Paul Powell, who was far from a fan favourite at Parc Jarry. His batting average had fallen by a full .100 in just two seasons. We decided to release him without going to Arbitration.

With the loss of two players, and no signings, the knives were out in the press, with almost universal opinion believing that the Expos were headed for another 100-loss season, perhaps a 120-loss season. The important thing for now was that we were now operating under our payroll budget, with just $157,000 left over, and $136,940 in the bank.

1976 Montreal Expos
http://www.ebaseballparks.com/images/jarry1.jpg
The final season at Parc Jarry

Line-up
2B - Bob Sheldon
1B - Rusty Staub
SS - Don Money
RF - Dwight Evans
LF - Andre Dawson
C - Milt May
3B - George Brett
CF - Fred Lynn

Bench
C - Harris Burcham
3B - Rob Teal
LF - Gary Roenicke
1B - Chris Nyman
RF - Mark Webster
C - James Kendricks

Rotation
1. Bert Blyleven
2. Steve Kline
3. Jerry Reuss
4. Dennis Blair

Bullpen
Mopup - Rick Rhoden
Closer - Mac Scarce
Setup - Jamie Easterly
Short - Larry Anderson
Short - John Sutton
Middle - Mike Adamson
Long - Scott Sanderson

Pre-Season Predicitions
1. New York (100-62)
2. Chicago (88-74)
3. Philadelphia (85-77)
4. Montreal (77-85)
5. St Louis (75-87)
6. Pittsburgh (64-98)

AMERICAN LEAGUE - Baltimore to beat Oakland in 5 games
NATIONAL LEAGUE - New York to beat Los Angeles in 5 games
WORLD SERIES - New York to trounce Baltimore in 4 games

April 1976

1976 was a great year to live in Montreal, with the eyes of the world soon to be trained on the city with the Olympic Games coming to town. However, not all was good out at the Olympic Park, with the stadium running behind schedule. There is some concern that the structure - with its revolutionary retractable roof design - may not be complete in time for the games. Time will tell.

On the field, the Expos started in red hot form, sweeping the Padres in the final Opening Day series to be played at the Parc Jarry. George Brett had a rotten start to the year, recording just one hit in his first 31 at-bats. He would rectify that somewhat with a walk-off home run in a 5-hour epic win at the Astrodome, which was also the Expos' first win on the road in 1976.

Pitcher Steve Kline was removed from the rotation for two weeks after a mild shoulder seperation against the Giants.

The month finished with Montreal at 12-15, and 'just' 9.5 wins out of first place, although the Mets would be very hard to beat in 1976. The star of the month would be Jamie Easterly, with the unheralded pitcher credited with four wins in relief.

NL East
1. New York (23-7)
2. Chicago (18-9)
3. Pittsburgh (14-13)
4. Montreal (12-15)
5. Philadelphia (13-17)
6. St Louis (11-16)

NL West - Cincinnati lead San Francisco by 1.5 games
AL East - Boston lead the **** Yankees by 2 games
AL West - Oakland lead California by 3.3 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Bert Blyleven (2.72)
Wins - Jamie Easterly (4)
Saves - Mac Scarce (4)
Average - Rusty Staub (.318)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (7)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (3)

May 1976

Bob Sheldon's season is over.

For a few days the reasons were not immediately clear, but gradually the truth came out. Bob had something of a reputation as a ladies' man around town, and was never short of company on a night on the town.

It turns out that Bob and his companion were engaging in a little pillow fight back in his house when the second-baseman was hit with a good shot from his petite mistress. Falling off balance, Sheldon put out his hand to steady his fall, and......

Broken wrist. Out for nearly a whole year.

With Arbitration coming up later in the year, it seems more likely than not that we've seen the last of Bob in an Expos uniform.

The absence of Sheldon means that Harry Chappas and Tony Ross get their opportunity in the big leagues. Quite frankly, they're not ready. And subsequently Montreal's results - although not terrible - started to head south again. The schedulers were not kind either with twelve games against the Dodgers, who are clearly the most talented team in the NL West, if not the best performing at the moment.

NL East
1. New York (38-17)
2. Chicago (32-23)
3. St Louis (26-26)
4. Pittsburgh (26-29)
5. Philadelphia (26-31)
6. Montreal (22-30)

NL West - Cincinnati lead San Francisco by 2 games
AL East - Baltimore lead New York and Boston by a game
AL West - Oakland lead California by 2 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Jerry Reuss (2.45)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (6)
Saves - Mac Scarce (6)
Average - Dwight Evans (.324)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (15)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (7)

Draft Choices
C Josh Strait (68/82), Tulare CA
CF Dave Henderson (58/88), Merced CA
LF Tom Romano (51/86), Syracuse NY
RP Rick Grapenthin (48/82), Linn Grove IA
RP Bob James (48/80), Glendale CA
P Frank Williams (50/82), Seattle WA

Our worst fears were realised on June 2 when it was announced that Toronto and Seattle would be joining the American League starting next season. There goes our Canadian monopoly. What do people see in Toronto anyway?

Jamie Easterly, the unheralded pitcher, is out for the rest of the season with severe elbow tendonitis. It may have eased his pain that he was credited with the W in the game that it happened, but I doubt it.

June was a mixed month of results. The National League had scheduled many of our home games to take place before the Olympics kick off, fearing that our attendances would take a severe beating if people had to choose between a sixth-placed team or the world's largest sports festival.

Therefore, with June in the bag, we only have another 20 home games to be played at Parc Jarry, before we head up the street to the (as yet uncompleted) Stade Olympique.

NL East
1. New York (53-26)
2. Chicago (51-31)
3. Philadelphia (41-41)
4. St Louis (36-43)
5. Montreal (32-47)
6. Pittsburgh (35-50)

NL West - Tenacious Cincinnati keep their one game lead over the Giants
AL East - Baltimore lead New York by 6 games
AL West - California lead the surprising Rangers by 3 games. Oakland are 3.5 games behind.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Jerry Reuss (2.81)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (7)
Saves - Mac Scarce (10)
Average - Dwight Evans (.343)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (20)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (11)

July 1976

The first half of the month was marked by home losses to San Diego and St Louis, who each swept us and put our hopes for improvement on temporary hold.

Dwight Evans recieved an invitation to the All-Star Game in Philadelphia, but couldn't get past the first round of the Home Run Showdown which also featured former teammate Toby Harrah. Despite going 2/3 the following day, Evans couldn't lift the National League to victory, going down 6-5.

On July 17, after beating the Cardinals 5-2 on their home field, the team watched the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXI Olympiad.

http://www.olympic.org/upload/games/1976S_city.gif
Note the incomplete Stade Olympique. They were still installing seats on the morning of the Opening Ceremony.

http://multimedia.olympic.org/pic/gal1976s_l_03.jpg
Hallo, hallo, hallo.....what's going on here?

http://multimedia.olympic.org/pic/gal1976s_l_02.jpg
They look so happy to be there. Especially him.

The very next day, Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn, two of the rising stars of the Expos, were ruled out for the remainder of the season. Evans broke his ankle leaping for a fly ball on the Astrodome turf, while Lynn ruptured his cervical disc just twenty minutes later.

The Expos would win just one game for the rest of the month. Three in total.

NL East
1. New York (68-36)
2. Chicago (66-39)
3. Philadelphia (53-54)
4. St Louis (46-55)
5. Pittsburgh (43-64)
6. Montreal (35-66)

NL West - The Giants lead the Dodgers by just 1.5 games. Cincinnati appear to have done their dash.
AL East - Baltimore lead Boston by 7 games
AL West - California - yes that's right - lead Texas - yes, indeed - by 7.5 games. Is the Oakland dynasty coming to an end?

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (2.98)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (9)
Saves - Mac Scarce (11)
Average - Dwight Evans (.330)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (21)
Stolen bases - Andre Dawson (13)

August 1976

The circus eventually left town, and left the city council and provincal government with a massive debt...I doubt they'll have it paid by the end of the decade, although the Expos would benefit by inheriting a world-class facility created at no cost to the club. Work to convert it to baseball began just hours after the Closing Ceremony was held on August 1.

The Expos, in the meanwhile, began the month with a series of disgraceful performances. The players, it seems, have given up, resulting in the following run totals for our opponents:

6, 11, 12, 14, 8, 10, 9, 14, 7, 5, 10, 7, 7, 2, 5 - all losses, a 15-game losing streak, easily the worst in the club's history.

August was also the worst month in Expos baseball, with a 4-23 record a great disappointment to fans and management alike. The fans stayed mostly loyal, even if some of them didn't wave with all of their fingers...

NL East
1. New York (87-42)
2. Chicago (85-47)
3. Philadelphia (72-62)
4. St Louis (61-71)
5. Pittsburgh (53-79)
6. Montreal (39-89)

NL West - The Giants lead the Dodgers by 1.5 games
AL East - Baltimore lead New York by 6 games
AL West - California lead Oakland by 5.5 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Steve Kline (3.38)
Wins - Jerry Reuss (10)
Saves - Mac Scarce (13)
Average - Rusty Staub (.261)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (21)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (14)

September-October 1976

After going 7-42 in the last two months, April seemed so long ago for long-suffering Expos fans. With Sheldon, Evans and Lynn missing from their line-up, it seemed like they were fielding four pitchers in their batting line-up, such was the quality of their farm team players.

But why were they so terrible? Quite simply, there weren't enough of them.

The natural progression for a rookie would be to spend up to four or five years crafting his trade with either Savannah, Potomac, Harrisburg or New Orleans. Dwight Evans was a good example of this - used sparingly in his first three years at the club, he was now one of the legitimate stars of the Expos, and perhaps even the league.

However, with prospects traded away over the years in order to get 'better' players, the depth of the club simply fell away. So much so that even an innocent pillowfight could elevate two Rookie League players into the starting line-up.

Things would have to change.

Meanwhile, the season dragged on and on. A day after winning their 40th game at Shea Stadium, the Expos lost their 100th at Three Rivers Stadium. It was that kind of season. The Expos even won consecuitve games - then gave up 39 runs at Parc Jarry to the Giants.

It was a measure of how far the Expos had fallen when their fans could feel somewhat satisfied to win six games in a month. The final game at Parc Jarry resulted in the Mets claiming the division title for yet another season, although Don Money had the satisfaction of scoring the final run in front of a sold-out crowd.

On the final day of the year, Jerry Reuss tore his rotator cuff. Out for all of the 1977 season! Merde! And we would have to pay him $365,000 just to live in Montreal and do nothing!

Surely better days lie ahead. Incredibly though, there was a team in the major league that was worse than Montreal!

NL East
1. New York (107-55)
2. Chicago (104-58)
3. Philadelphia (88-74)
4. St Louis (76-86)
5. Pittsburgh (66-96)
6. Montreal (46-116)

NL West
1. San Francisco (97-65)
2. Los Angeles (96-66)
3. Atlanta (82-80)
4. Houston (74-88)
5. Cincinnati (73-89)
6. San Diego (63-99)

AL East
1. Baltimore (105-57)
2. New York (92-70)
3. Boston (91-71)
4. Detroit (87-75)
5. Cleveland (81-81)
6. Milwaukee (36-126)

AL West
1. Oakland (100-62)
2. California (99-63)
3. Texas (86-76)
4. Chicago (75-87)
5. Minnesota (66-96)
6. Kansas City (54-108)

The Athletics and Mets each won their series with each to set up one of the more anticipated World Series showdowns in years. Either New York would keep their winning sequence intact, or Oakland would stamp their mark as the 'Team of the 70s'.

It wasn't the fact that they won in four games, but the absolute dominance that Oakland showed in winning each of the games - 6-2, 10-2, 5-2 and 11-0 at Shea Stadium to win their fourth title this decade.

Montreal Expos - The Parc Jarry Years

1969 - 58-104 (6th)
1970 - 59-103 (6th)
1971 - 82-80 (4th) - Captain Mack Jones
1972 - 55-107 (6th)
1973 - 74-88 (4th) - Captain Rusty Staub
1974 - 62-100 (6th)
1975 - 64-98 (6th)
1976 - 46-116 (6th)

Highlights 1969-1976
July 20 1969 - Bob Bailey hit for the cycle
September 15 1973 - Don Money hit for the cycle
June 2 1974 - Steve Renko pitched a no-hitter
June 2 1974 - Don Money hit for the cycle
September 22 1975 - Rusty Staub recorded his 2000th hit
May 26 1976 - Rusty Staub recorded his 1000th RBI

Opening Day 1969 Expos - Where Are They Now?

LF Mack Jones - Expos' first All-Star player and captain, Jones signed as a free agent with the White Sox in 1973, where he is currently employed as a designated hitter. He hit a career-best .296 in 1976

RF Jose Herrera - Has spent the last five seasons with the Astros, although he spent the majority of the 1975 and 1976 seasons with the Round Rock Express AAA team.

CF Manny Mota - After being traded to the Braves halfway through 1969, Mota spent much of his time as a spare-parts player, eventually retiring with the Phillies in 1974.

1B Rusty Staub - Still an Expo

3B Bob Bailey - Traded to Philadelphia in 1972, where he played in the World Series. Still starting at left-field despite being on the wrong side of 35. Had two golden seasons where he batted above .320 each time.

C John Bateman - After spending much time on the bench in Montreal, Bateman eventually signed for Milwaukee and later the Dodgers, but would never play another game in the major leagues, before retiring in 1975.

2B Gary Sutherland - Spent one season with the Expos, before going on to play with the Senators, Rangers, Twins and Yankees, never in a starting capacity. Currently a free agent.

SS Bobby Wine - Released after the signing of Don Money in 1971. Signed with the Mets but never played a game and eventually retired in 1972.

SP Carl Morton - Traded to the Yankees in 1973 where he has started every season, although never recording a winning record. I'm sure the Red Sox and Orioles are grateful for that!

Stade Olympique - a new era begins for Expos

With the Parc Jarry years firmly behind us, we made the move into the modern Stade Olympique facility. It seats just over 43,000 for baseball. Oh yes, and for a supposedly indoor stadium, it has no roof. In fact, many aspects of the stadium are incomplete!

http://www.ballparkwatch.com/images/...montreal_1.jpg

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/olympi01.jpg
An artist's rendition of the completed stadium. Note that it's not exactly close to downtown Montreal.

Contract Time!
C Milt May (85) resigned for $305,000 at Arbitration
C James Kendricks (57/67) resigned for $50,000 at Arbitration
SP Bert Blyleven (93) signed a three year contract worth $465,000 per year with a team option for 1980. 1976 was by far his worst year as an Expo (9-26, 4.79 ERA). We're hoping it's just a blip on the trendline.
SP Steve Kline (84) declined to exercise his player option and instead signed a slightly increased contract - $390,000 for 2 years.
SP Dennis Blair (77/82) was released without a contract offered
SP Mike Adamson (63/70) was released without a contract offered
RP Mac Scarce (92) signed a contract for $370,000 over 3 years

1977 Expansion Draft

With the Blue Jays and Mariners joining the American League in 1977, it fell to the Expos to protect 15 players on our roster ahead of an expansion draft. In a way, this represents a real opportunity to get rid of some dead wood. You want those dogs, Toronto? Woof woof, they're yours. We decided not to protect Jerry Reuss, since we figured that nobody would be interested in a pitcher they couldn't use until 1978. Steve Kline was also unprotected as we were confident that nobody would take him.

We would be proven wrong on one count, as Toronto made Jerry Reuss their first overall choice. What a kick in the guts from our Canadian counterparts. No other Expos players were drafted.

A slew of free agents were signed on one-year contracts, mostly the castoffs of other teams' minor league organisations:

RP Alan Macquarrie (59/88) - California Angels
SP Frank MacCormack (53/88) - Free agent, previously played in Puetro Rico
SP Joe Cowley (49/86) - Atlanta Braves
SP Craig Chamberlain (49/85) - Boston Red Sox
3B Tucker Ashford (56/81) - Free agent, previously played in Mexico
LF Duane Walker (51/80) - Free agent, previously played in Japan

We then procedeed to rebuilt the team once again through the trade market. Perhaps it was going against everything we had learnt, having our fingers burnt more than once through trades, but we couldn't keep the same 46-win team around the place.

Expos Get - SP Scott Henderson (91/94)
Orioles Get - SP Frank McCormack, RP Mac Scarce, SP Steve Kline, SP Theo Frearson, SP Rick Engle and $200,000.

Expos Get - SP Preston Uminsky (75/100) and $150,000
Blue Jays Get - LF Gary Roenicke (70/94)

Expos Get - 2B Dave Cash (87) and $15,200,000
Pirates Get - SP Bert Blyleven (93)
I don't often like the idea of trading my best pitcher to a division rival, but I was blinded by the dollar signs

Expos Get - SP Glenn Abbott (93/96) - 30-6 career record!
Athletics Get - $6,150,000

The rest of the money we stowed under our matresses for a rainy day...

1977 Montreal Expos

Line-up
2B - Dave Cash
1B - Rusty Staub
RF - Andre Dawson
CF - Dwight Evans
SS - Don Money
C - Milt May
3B - George Brett
LF - Fred Lynn

Bench
C - Harris Burcham
2B - Bob Sheldon
3B - Rob Teal
1B - Chris Nyman
CF - Dave Henderson
RF - Mark Webster

Rotation - all new starters
1. Scott McGregor
2. Glenn Abbott
3. Rick Rhoden
4. Preston Uminsky

Bullpen
Mopup - Charlie Lea
Closer - John Sutton
Setup - Jamie Easterly
Short - Larry Anderson
Short - Dan Schatzeder
Middle - Scott Sanderson
Long - Tom Gorman

Pre-Season Predicitions
1. New York (98-64)
2. Chicago (87-75)
3. Philadelphia (86-76)
4. St Louis (81-81)
5. Pittsburgh (74-88)
6. Montreal (49-113)

We just can't get any love from the American Press

AMERICAN LEAGUE - Baltimore to beat Oakland in 4 games
NATIONAL LEAGUE - New York to beat Los Angeles in 4 games
WORLD SERIES - New York to beat Baltimore in 5 games

April 1977

Opening Day at Stade Olympique was a great occasion, with the San Francisco Giants coming to town on April 7. Even though the Expos went down by 5-0, the capacity crowd appreciated the entertainment and supported the team with great pride. The first win at our new stadium would come the following week when Scott McGregor allowed just four hits in a 6-2 win over the Astros.

George Brett dislocated his collarbone in a car accident, but he should fine to return to action sometime in May. #3 starter Rick Rhoden fractured his wrist trying to catch a flyball and should be out for roughly a month.

Even though the month ended with four straight losses at home, the Expos would feel somewhat pleased with their results thus far.

NL East
1. New York (17-11)
2. Philadelphia (13-12)
3. St Louis (12-12)
4. Montreal (10-14)
5. Pittsburgh (10-15)
6. Chicago (10-16)

NL West - Los Angeles lead the Giants by 1.5 games
AL East - Boston lead Baltimore by a game
AL West - Chicago lead California by 1.5 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Scott McGregor (3.33)
Wins - Scott McGregor (5)
Saves - John Sutton (2)
Average - Andre Dawson (.310)
Home Runs - Milt May (8)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (3)