The Expos

[Shortstop]

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!

[Shortstop]

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!




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...

[Shortstop]

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

[Shortstop]

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

[Shortstop]

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)

[Shortstop]

May 1977

Same old Expos.

7-20 for the month of May, without winning a single series. On the final day of the month, Glenn Abbott broke his ankle while pitching. Brilliant.

With the worst bullpen in the National League (if not National League history), we had to use some of that 'rainy day cash' to try and rectify the situation.

Expos Get - RP Hal Haydel (73), RP Mark Wiley (87), RP Tom Johnson (80/90)
Twins Get - $2,700,000

Expos Get - RP Cardell Camper (82)
Indians Get - $1,450,000

Expos Get - SP Ken Forsch (90)
Astros Get - SP Charlie Lea (61/74) and $1,150,000

NL East
1. New York (37-18)
2. Philadelphia (35-19)
3. Pittsburgh (26-26)
4. St Louis (25-28)
5. Chicago (24-32)
6. Montreal (17-34)

NL West - The Giants lead LA by 2 games
AL East - Baltimore and New York are tied at the top
AL West - Oakland lead the Angels by half a game.

Expos Leaders
ERA - Glenn Abbott (3.62)
Wins - Scott McGregor (7)
Saves - John Sutton (3)
Average - Dwight Evans (.324)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (12)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (3)

[Shortstop]

Draft Choices
SP Rich Clarke (66/93) - Lynchburg VA
SP Adam Grindlinger (58/89) - Hagerstown MD
SP Richard Dotson (49/90) - Cincinnati OH
RP Frank Eufemia (48/83) - Bronx NY
RP Mike Jones (48/80) - Penfield NY
RP Tom Niedenfuer (48/80) - St Louis Park MN

July 1977

Was it just an unlucky day? On the 7/6/77, with the scores tied at 7 in the 7th inning, Don Money (listed seventh in the batting line-up) suffered a torn ankle ligament. He will miss seven months.

The good news for the Expos was that they actually had a winning month! The improved quality of the bullpen appears to be having an effect already, although we seem to be going through starters at the rate of knots. Ken Forsch and rookie Rich Clarke are the sixth and seventh starters this year, already.

NL East
1. Philadelphia (51-25)
2. New York (53-27)
3. Pittsburgh (37-39)
4. St Louis (37-42)
5. Chicago (35-47)
6. Montreal (29-47)

NL West - San Francisco lead the Dodgers by 3.5 games
AL East - Baltimore lead New York by 6 games
AL West - California lead their state rivals Oakland by a game

Expos Leaders
ERA - Ken Forsch (2.15)
Wins - Scott McGregor (12)
Saves - Hal Haydel (9)
Average - Dwight Evans (.319)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (19)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (7)

[Shortstop]

July 1977

Montreal began the month with excellent form, shooting down the Pirates and Giants in consecutive home series. However, for the first time in franchise history there would be no Expos at the All-Star game. And after last season, who could blame the voters?

The Expos continued on their merry way, finishing just under .500 for the month and just over .400 for the season thus far. The only black note was an injury to Scott McGregor which would see him out for a fortnight.

NL East
1. New York (70-35)
2. Philadelphia (64-39)
3. Chicago (51-58)
4. Pittsburgh (44-55)
5. St Louius (43-58)
6. Montreal (41-60)

NL West - The Giants hold the Dodgers off by 4 games
AL East - Baltimore dominate the division, leading New York by 10
AL West - California lead Texas by 3.5 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Ken Forsch (2.47)
Wins - Scott McGregor (15)
Saves - Hal Haydel (13)
Average - Dwight Evans (.304)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (21)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (9)

[Shortstop]

August 1977

Unless you saw it, you wouldn't believe it. An 8-4 start to the month? Fantastic. A six game winning streak? Terrific. A six game winning streak on the road?. Call in the drug testers.

Of course, those Mets would come in and steal four of six games, including a 18-1 mauling at home where 14 runs were given up in the eighth inning. The month ended with a losing record (13-16) but the progress made was pleasing to the long-suffering fans, who were now saying "We're number four!"

NL East
1. New York (89-44)
2. Philadelphia (82-48)
3. Chicago (66-70)
4. Montreal (54-76)
5. Pittsburgh (52-76)
6. St Louis (51-76)

NL West - San Francisco now lead the Dodgers by just a half game
AL East - Baltimore have cracked the 100 wins and appear invincible.
AL West - California lead Oakland by 5 games

Expos Leaders
ERA - Scott McGregor (2.94)
Wins - Scott McGregor (18)
Saves - Hal Haydel (18)
Average - Andre Dawson (.316)
Home Runs - Dwight Evans (27)
Stolen Bases - Andre Dawson (14)

[Shortstop]

September-October 1977

Montreal completed a 24-game improvement on their 1976 record by finishing the year with a 16-16 record, which included a sweep of the second-placed Phillies to round out the year.

Many records were set during the months of September and October:

* The Expos set a new attendance record, with 2,170,536 spectators attending the games. There is plenty of room for improvement with this record.
* Scott McGregor became the first Expos pitcher to win 20 games on September 19 against the Phillies. He would go 5-1 to finish the year.
* Dwight Evans hit over .300 for the fourth season in a row

NL East
1. New York (111-49)
2. Philadelphia (103-59)
3. Chicago (78-84)
4. Montreal (70-92)
5. St Louis (69-93)
6. Pittsburgh (63-99)

NL West
1. San Francisco (99-63)
2. Los Angeles (96-66)
3. Atlanta (89-71)
4. San Diego (67-93)
5. Cincinnati (63-97)
6. Houston (60-102)

AL East
1. Baltimore (122-40)
2. New York (105-57)
3. Detroit (88-74)
4. Boston (86-76)
5. Cleveland (83-79)
6. Toronto (53-109)
7. Milwaukee (51-111)

AL West - the Athletics' reign is over!
1. California (100-62)
2. Oakland (92-70)
3. Chicago (84-78)
4. Texas (79-83)
5. Seattle (75-87)
6. Minnesota (60-102)
7. Kansas City (56-106)

Seattle's 75-win record is the most of any expansion club, beating the old mark of 71 wins set by....Seattle in 1969.

California performed well in their first trip to the post-season, and nearly pulled off a massive upset when they pushed the Orioles to 5 games. Sanity was soon resumed and the two best teams in the competition were left to fight it out. The Mets' experience in the big games soon shone through and they won their second World Series title in five games.

[Shortstop]

1977 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Cash, Dave                MON  160  .232   671  156  30   5   3   65   61   13  14   89   42  .306  .301
Dawson, Andre             MON  144  .320   588  188  39   4  31   42   81   16   2  109   92  .558  .368
May, Milt                 MON  153  .222   586  130  25   0  17   46   59    2   0   55   67  .352  .284
Staub, Rusty              MON  142  .273   557  152  22   2  13   55   79    2   2   68   81  .390  .340
Evans, Dwight             MON  162  .303   555  168  37   6  31  137   84    0   4   92  106  .559  .440
Brett, George             MON  128  .216   513  111  20   4  11   60   50    5   8   68   43  .335  .299
Sheldon, Bob              MON  149  .239   451  108  18   2   0   18   78    4   1   34   27  .288  .268
Lynn, Fred                MON  124  .212   444   94  15   1  13   44   75    2   4   36   45  .338  .285
Teal, Rob                 MON  122  .218   243   53  10   0   2   13   50    0   1   21   27  .284  .261
Money, Don                MON   64  .269   242   65  17   1   4   29   35    3   2   28   35  .397  .348
Webster, Mark             MON   54  .239   180   43  10   1   4    4   19    1   0   17   34  .372  .263
McGregor, Scott           MON   41  .131    99   13   0   0   0    3   40    1   0    5    6  .131  .157
Rhoden, Rick              MON   33  .159    82   13   2   0   1    5   23    0   0    4    8  .220  .207
Forsch, Ken               MON   38  .130    77   10   0   0   0    3   36    0   0    3    2  .130  .160
Burcham, Harris           MON   35  .164    61   10   0   0   0    6   12    0   0    4    2  .164  .250
Abbott, Glenn             MON   22  .250    56   14   1   0   0    1   22    0   0    5    3  .268  .263
Nyman, Chris              MON   26  .043    23    1   0   0   0    3    5    0   0    1    0  .043  .154
Sanderson, Scott          MON    8  .091    22    2   0   0   0    1   10    0   1    2    0  .091  .130
Henderson, Dave           MON   26  .000    16    0   0   0   0    3    5    0   0    1    0  .000  .158
Uminsky, Preston          MON    9  .000    13    0   0   0   0    0    6    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Anderson, Larry           MON    8  .200    10    2   1   0   0    2    4    0   0    1    0  .300  .333
Clarke, Rich              MON    6  .200    10    2   0   0   0    1    2    0   0    1    0  .200  .273
Romano, Tom               MON    2  .143     7    1   0   1   0    1    2    0   0    1    0  .429  .250
Easterly, Jamie           MON    0  .167     6    1   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .167  .167
Ashford, Tucker           MON    4  .000     4    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Schatzeder, Dan           MON    0  .000     4    0   0   0   0    1    3    0   0    1    0  .000  .200
Wiley, Mark               MON    0  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Camper, Cardell           MON    0  .500     2    1   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    1    0  .500  .500
Johnson, Tom              MON    0  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    1  .000  .000
Gorman, Tom               MON    1  .500     2    1   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .500  .500
Haydel, Hal               MON    0 1.000     1    1   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    1 1.000 1.000
Sutton, John              MON    0  .000     1    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000

1977 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
McGregor, Scott           MON  311.2  2.57   41  41  23  12   0  151   67  9.24
Forsch, Ken               MON  253.0  3.27   38  38  15  13   0  147   79 12.02
Rhoden, Rick              MON  230.2  6.05   33  33   9  18   0  167  112 15.80
Abbott, Glenn             MON  166.1  3.52   22  22   6   7   0   84   40 10.66
Sanderson, Scott          MON   92.1  5.36   23   8   1   7   0   66   23 14.13
Wiley, Mark               MON   88.1  2.95   69   0  10   5   5   72   22  9.58
Camper, Cardell           MON   77.1  4.66   46   0   3   6   2   52   37 13.62
Anderson, Larry           MON   65.0  5.82   28   8   3   4   0   37   43 15.51
Easterly, Jamie           MON   58.1  5.86   43   0   4   4   1   37   36 14.81
Uminsky, Preston          MON   49.1  8.39    9   9   0   5   0   32   38 19.34
Haydel, Hal               MON   42.0  3.21   39   0   4   4  26   36   26 13.07
Clarke, Rich              MON   36.1  7.93    7   6   1   5   0   25   28 20.31
Sutton, John              MON   29.2  5.16   23   0   1   2   3   17    9 11.83
Johnson, Tom              MON   23.0  4.70   13   0   0   0   0   17   13 13.30
Schatzeder, Dan           MON   20.0 11.25   14   0   0   2   0   14   13 21.60
Williams, Frank           MON    6.0 15.00    2   2   0   2   0    4    7 27.00
Gorman, Tom               MON    4.1 16.62    2   1   0   1   0    2    4 24.92

[Shortstop]

It turned out the Expos weren't the only show in town at the Stade Olympique. Many concerts would be held in the city, for example, Pink Floyd:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade_Olympique

In 1977, Pink Floyd wrapped up their In The Flesh tour at this venue. During the performance, Roger Waters started to sing "Pigs on the Wing 2", but was interrupted by an audience member setting off a firecracker near to the stage. He stopped singing and shouted out, "Oh, for ****'s sake. Stop letting off fireworks and shouting and screaming. I'm trying to sing a song." The crowd cheered at this. He continued:

"I mean I don't care. If you don't wanna hear it, you know... **** you! I'm sure there's a lot of people here who do want to hear it. So why don't you just be quiet... If you wanna let your fireworks off, go outside and let them off out there. And if you wanna shout and scream and holler go and do it out there but... I'm trying to sing a song that some people want to listen to. I want to listen to it!"

He then continued with the song. The situation continued to deteriorate, however, and during "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", Waters watched incredulously as one fan climbed the netting that separated the audience from the band. Out of disgust, Waters spat in the fan's face. Near the end of the show, Pink Floyd guitarist and singer David Gilmour was reported to have walked off the stage in disgust, sitting out the final encore. Following the performance, Waters is said to have regretted his actions, and began to lament the separation between the audience and band. It was this which caused Waters to come up with the idea of the critically acclaimed album The Wall.

[Shortstop]

Off-Season News

Scott McGregor won the National League Cy Young Award despite playing in a 70-win team. He posted an ERA of 2.57 over 311 innings and had a record of 23-12. To top it off, he also won the NL Pitcher Gold Glove, while Dave Cash (second base) and Andre Dawson (right field) did the same for their respective positions.

C Milt May (85) was resigned for $375,000 at Arbitration
1B Rusty Staub (88) declined his player option to renew for $365,000, and was resigned for $400,000 over two seasons. He has hinted at retirement after 1979.
2B Bob Shelton (80) was resigned for $225,000 at Arbitration
RF Andre Dawson (94) was resigned for $960,000 at Arbitration. He deserves it.
CF Fred Lynn (83/94) was resigned for $415,000 at Arbitration
C Harris Burcham (63) was released without a contract offered
3B Tucker Ashford (57/80) was resigned for $35,000 over two seasons
RF Mark Webster (57) was released without a contract offered
C James Kendricks (49/57) was released without a contract offered
LF Duane Walker (48/81) was resigned for $5,000 over two seasons
SS Don Money (93) declined his player option for $365,000 and was resigned for a very large $790,000 over four seasons. He will be traded.
SP Glenn Abbott (93/95) was resigned for $655,000 over three seasons. His contract includes a player and team option.
SP Rick Rhoden (81/94) was resigned for $200,000 at Arbitration
RP Hal Haydel (75) was released after he refused a one-season contract.
RP Mark Wiley (87) was resigned for $400,000 at Arbitration
RP John Sutton (83) was resigned for $180,000 at Arbitration
RP Alan Macquarrie (52/71) was resigned for $30,000 over two seasons
SP Joe Cowley (52/81) was resigned for $30,000 over two seasons

Free Agent Signings
SS Lee Culligan (72), a former Angels and Yankees minor league player, was signed to a two-season contract worth $70,000
SP Gil Patterson (61/94), a minor league journeyman who was never drafted, was signed to a one-season contract worth $35,000.

We secured the long-term future of Dwight Evans on November 6, with the right-fielder putting pen to paper on a contract worth $1,025,000 per season until the end of 1984. The catch is that Dwight has a no-trade clause built in, as well as a player option worth $3.475m until the end of 1987. We are very happy nonetheless to see 'Dewey' stay with the Expos.

Andre Dawson's contract talks were far less stressful for us, as he agreed to a slight rise on his Arbitration price and extended his contract until the end of 1981.

The final player to get an extention of their existing contract was Rick Rhoden, with the young pitcher (he's still only 24) getting three years at a slight rise of his Arbitration price, with a team and player option built in.

Trades
Don Money was packed off to the Rangers, where we received the promising Jim Mason (84/92) and $1.4 million in return. The 26-year old Mason will slot straight in at shortstop and batted at .274 last season.

[Shortstop]

One final trade was worked out before the start of spring training, with Bob Sheldon finding a new home in Boston. Pitcher Maurice Warldron has packed his bags for the trip north over the border.

The 1978 Montreal Expos
Ten Seasons Of Baseball

Lineup
2B - Dave Cash
3B - George Brett
RF - Andre Dawson
CF - Dwight Evans
1B - Rusty Staub
C - Milt May
LF - Fred Lynn
SS - Jim Mason

Bench
C - Josh Strait
IF - Darryl Gessler
SS - Lee Culligan
3B - Tob Teal
RF - Josh McConnell
IF - Tony Ross

Rotation
1. Scott McGregor
2. Glenn Abbott
3. Ken Forsch
4. Rick Rhoden

Bullpen
Mopup - Maurice Warldron
Closer - Mark Wiley
Setup - Cardell Camper
Short - John Sutton
Short - Jamie Easterly
Middle - Tom Johnson
Long - Larry Anderson

[Shortstop]

Pre Season Predicitions

My goodness! What did we do to deserve this?

1. New York (99-63)
2. Montreal (86-76)
3. Chicago (83-79)
4. Philadelphia (83-79)
5. St Louis (82-80)
6. Pittsburgh (75-87)

AMERICAN LEAGUE - Baltimore to beat California in 4 games
NATIONAL LEAGUE - New York to beat Atlanta in 3 games
WORLD SERIES - Baltimore to beat New York in 5 games