Expos News: February 2018 Update
It’s been a busy time for the Expos news, oddly enough since they don’t exist, and so I thought it a good time to recap what’s been happening and to cover it all in short form.
Pedro Martinez News
Ben Nicholson-Smith recently wrote an article about how much of an impact playing for the Expos had on Pedro Martinez, and vice versa. Martinez is quoted as saying this about the team he left behind when traded,
“Believe me, we were going to be the Yankees,” he said. “If we were left to be together for at least three more years, we were going to be what the Yankees became.”
And I couldn’t agree more. The timing of his trade was horrible and really seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the Expos.
Pedro is also set to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball HOF on June 16th,
Bob Bailey Passes
For those who may have missed it, Bob Bailey – who managed the first Expos hit in 1969, against Tom Seaver – passed away at 75 yrs old recently and had very fond memories of his time in Montreal.
“I think about baseball every day but most of it is about the time I spent in Montreal,’
His passing was noted by many throughout the baseball world, including the Baseball HOF who sent out this Tweet,
To get a great feel for what Bob Bailey was like, have a read of Danny Gallagher’s piece titled “R. I. P. Original Expo, Bob Bailey“, it’s a fun read and a good reflection of his personality.
Overall through his career, Bailey hit .257 with 189 HRs, five seasons with a wRC+ over 120 (high of 160 wRC+ in 1970), and a total of 31.3 WAR over his 1,931 games played. He will forever be remembered as having made a big mark on Baseball in Montreal over his seven seasons with the team.
Danny Gallagher’s New Book
As Clayton Trutor of SB Nation’s “Down the Drive” noted, Danny Gallagher will be blessing us with yet another book on the Expos, this time titled:
Blue Monday: The Expos, The Dodgers and the Home Run That Changed Everything.
Clayton also sat down with Danny in 2017 and interviewed the long-time Expos coverage writer, getting some great information on Danny, the Expos, and Baseball in Montreal. The most notable exchange may have been this one,
CT: What are Montreal’s chances of getting big league baseball back?
DG: I would say the chances of Montreal getting another team are pretty good. There is a fair amount of dialogue between the commissioner’s office and Stephen Bronfman and Mitch Garber, the two prospective owners of a new franchise in Montreal. A new team would come in the form of a relocated team such as Tampa Bay or an expansion franchise. What is holding things up is that the commissioner’s office wants the lease situations at the Tampa and Oakland ballparks resolved before expansion can be considered.
And on that note, the Tampa Bay Rays recently let the world know that they’ve selected their preferred location for a new stadium, so the process on that front is progressing and is now headed to the hardest part – who pays for all of it? Danny Russell of DRaysBay noted the latest on the situation here.
Vladimir Guerrero Enters HOF as an Angel
More Expos news here, because surely the reactions to Guerrero entering the HOF with an Angels cap on vice an Expos cap had to ruffle some people’s minds when the news was heard. However, when the awards he managed as an Angel and the playoff time he experienced there is considered, it makes a lot of sense. Add on the fact that he’ll be the very first player to go into the HOF as an Angel, and it solidifies why he made that decision.
If you’d like to read a decent article on it, Bill Shaikin has you covered here, and Shi Davidi took the subject on and did a fine job here.
I won’t lie, it does sting a little, but it’s understandable and it’s 100% his decision to make, so we should all support it and head to Cooperstown to see his induction if you can manage it.
That about covers the latest Expos news. I’ll be coming out with a lot more coverage soon, so stay tuned, and with Stadium news in both Tampa and Oakland making some headway, it shouldn’t be too long before #MLB is talking expansion!
– Mat Germain, baseball writer for Expos Reloaded and SB Nation’s DRaysBay, with more than 10 years covering the Toronto Blue Jays (Jays Journal) and Tampa Bay Rays. Still serving in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Reservist and Operations Officer for 413 Search and Rescue Squadron in Greenwood, Nova Scotia. Follow Mat on Twitter @MatGermain76.