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BASEBALL LIVES IN OUR CITY

BASEBALL LIVES IN OUR CITY

Searching for Unexpected Expos Encounters

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If you’re old enough to have seen the Expos play in either the Olympic Stadium or Jarry Park, you may have been lucky enough to experience some unexpected Expos encounters.

It could be something as innocuous as bumping into a player on the street and asking for an autograph. Or, it could be that unbelievable run-in that you share at parties to get a laugh out of everyone. In any case, many Expos fans have had the good fortune to experience one of those types of moments.

MTL Baseball hopes to share many of those stories that Montreal baseball fans have been through over the years.

To get the ball rolling, I’ll share a couple of unexpected Expos encounters I had as a youngster while attending games at the Olympic Stadium.

Unexpected Expos Encounters at Olympic Stadium

The Mysterious Autograph

I’m not sure exactly which year this happened in, but I’m guessing it was 1994 or 1995.

I had just started high school so I was still a kid at the time. My mom had taken me to see an Expos game at the “Big O”. I don’t remember anything about the game. When the game ended, we headed over to Pie-IX station to ride the subway back home.

Once we were in the subway car, I looked over at a man seated a couple of doors down from where we were. I nudged my mother with my elbow and she bent down to hear what I had to say. I whispered to her that it was Wil Cordero, the Expos shortstop at that time.

She tried to convince me to ask him for his autograph, but I was too shy to do such a thing. I had my baseball glove with me. I brought that glove with me to every game I attended on the off chance that I would catch a fly ball, even if we were sitting way up in the nosebleed section. My mom took the glove from me and walked over to Cordero.

I watched as the Expos’ All-Star shortstop signed my glove. My mom then asked the man sitting next to Cordero for his autograph as well. I could see that he was a little reluctant to sign my glove, but he did it anyway.

My mom brought the glove back to me, obviously happy to have acquired a couple of Expos autographs for her shy little boy. I was excited to have Cordero’s autograph, but I couldn’t make out the other name on the glove.

Luckily, I had bought a souvenir baseball with all of the Expos’ signatures on it at the Olympic Stadium. I quickly checked the ball to compare the signatures. Sure enough, there was Cordero’s. A perfect match. I looked for the other man’s signature on the ball, but nothing came close to it.

Now, it’s possible the man was a call-up who wasn’t with the Expos when my souvenir ball was produced. I prefer to think that he was just a random friend of Cordero’s travelling with him after the game.

It’s funnier to think that my mom just didn’t know any better and got this man to sheepishly sign my glove right next to Wil Cordero’s autograph.

For years, I would proudly show my friends my baseball glove signed by Wil Cordero and his anonymous friend who my mother thought was an Expos player.

Unexpected Expos Encounters in the Felipe Alou YearsThe Fading Legend

A couple of years after my Wil Cordero experience, I went to a game with a couple of high school friends.

This game is easily traced. It was in the middle of Felipe Alou’s tenure as manager.

I remember that Lee Smith got into the game with a lead in the late innings but gave up a couple of runs to blow the save.

Since Lee Smith only played for the Expos in 1997 and only blew one save, it’s clear that I was at the game on May 25, 1997.

When the game was over, my friends and I got on the Metro at Pie-IX station.

To my surprise, Lee Smith, the all-time saves leader at that point, was sitting right near my friends and I. I shared this information with my friend, who hadn’t recognized the hulking closer.

My buddy thought I should ask Smith for his autograph. I glanced over at the living legend who was sitting next to a lady, possibly his girlfriend. He looked like he had just blown a save and wasn’t too happy about it.

I told my friend I didn’t think it was a good idea.

Next thing I know, my buddy’s asking Lee Smith to sign the team picture we received at the gates before the game.

To his credit, Smith agreed and signed our pictures. He didn’t look too happy about it, but he did it anyway.

At the time, I thought it was nice of him to sign autographs for a couple of teenagers after a rough game.

Little did I know it would be the last blown save of his career. Smith got into only eight more games with the Expos before leaving the team in the middle of the season.

He tried to make a comeback later in the season. Smith wanted to play anywhere but “way the hell out in Canada”. Unfortunately, nobody would give the living legend another chance and his big-league career was over.

Lee Smith would remain the all-time saves leader until Trevor Hoffman passed him in 2006. Mariano Rivera would push Smith down to third on the all-time list in 2011.

Both Hoffman and Rivera should make it into the Hall of Fame, but Smith missed out this year in his final turn on the ballot.

I’m glad I got to see him while he was still the Saves King. It’s also kind of strange that I got to see the last blown save of his career and still got his autograph.

Let's Hear About Your Unexpected Expos Encounters

I Want to Hear Your Stories

Those are two unexpected Expos encounters that stand out in my memory.

I’m sure that you all have more interesting stories to tell about brushes with members of Nos Amours.

I’d love to hear all about them and share the best ones on this site for everyone in the MTL Baseball community to enjoy.

Keep in mind, I’ll only share stories that are clean and suitable for our younger readers.

So, if you’ve had memorable unexpected Expos encounters, please share them with us. You can leave a comment on this article or on Twitter or Facebook.

I’d like to make this a regular type of post on the site, so if you’ve got a fun story to share with everyone, let’s get it out there!

Here’s Why Rock’s Induction Is Bigger Than the Kid’s or Hawk’s

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Rock's Induction Bigger Than Kid's or Hawk's

Expos fans celebrated when Gary “The Kid” Carter entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. They rejoiced when Andre “The Hawk” Dawson joined Carter in 2010. But, on July 30, when Tim “Rock” Raines finally makes it to Cooperstown, Expos fans will go ballistic. Simply put, Rock’s induction is bigger than the Kid’s or Hawk’s.

Bear with me.

Don’t get me wrong. Carter and Dawson both had an enduring impact on the Expos franchise and fanbase. They were tremendous players.

However, Tim Raines’ induction will be more meaningful to fans of the defunct Nos Amours for a number of reasons.

Rock Wanted To Go in as an Expo and He’ll Be the First Undisputed Expo in the Hall of Fame

Let me explain this one.

Both Gary Carter and Andre Dawson wanted to have a different cap on their Hall of Fame plaque than the Expos’. Most die-hard Expos fans know this.

Carter preferred to go in as a Met or at the very least with a split cap. He had won a World Series in 1986 with the Mets and became a huge star while he was in New York.

From a marketing standpoint, it also made more sense for him to go into memorabilia events as a New York Met Hall of Famer than as an Expo. Carter could make more money in the New York market than in a Montreal market that no longer had a team.

Dawson expressed his desire to go in as a Chicago Cub. The Hawk left the Expos on bitter terms with the club’s management in 1986. At the time, many Major League clubs colluded to prevent players from hitting the free agent market. Dawson had received a low-ball offer from the Expos following the 1986 season. He also wanted to get away from playing on the Olympic Stadium’s artificial turf, which damaged his knees.

The Hawk went on to win the National League Most Valuable Player award the following season as a Cub. He was a five-time All-Star in Chicago. He made three All-Star Games as an Expo.

Both Carter and Dawson made legitimate cases to enter the Hall of Fame as representatives of other franchises. Ultimately, they settled on going into Cooperstown as Expos.

With Raines, there was never any doubt on his part or anybody else’s that he would enter the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo.

Raines played 13 of his 23 seasons in Montreal, which included the prime of his career. While he did win the World Series with the New York Yankees in 1996 and 1998, he was but a part-time role player at that point.

That’s why Rock will be the first undisputed Expo to enter Cooperstown.

The Renewed Enthusiasm for the Expos Will Make This a Real Celebration

Timing is everything.

When Gary Carter became a Hall of Famer in 2003, the Expos were dying.

They were owned by Major League Baseball at the time, and it was obvious that they would soon be relocating.

The team was splitting its home games between Montreal and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Despite that obstacle, the players found a way to remain close in the National League Wild Card race.

However, Bud Selig and the MLB owners sent a strong message to the Expos players about their chances in September. While the rest of the teams got help from call-ups for the stretch run, the Expos players received no such reinforcements. Demoralized, the team quickly fell out of contention.

The following season would be the Expos’ last in Montreal before relocating to Washington in 2005.

When Andre Dawson entered Cooperstown in 2010, the Expos had been extinct for six years.

Denis Coderre wasn’t the mayor of Montreal. Therefore, he had not started his mission to bring baseball back to Montreal. Expos Nation didn’t exist yet. Nobody believed in an eventual return of the Expos.

Bud Selig was still the commissioner of baseball. Thus, any talk of an MLB return to Montreal could only be qualified as far-fetched.

Things are different in 2017.

There’s a renewed enthusiasm for the game in Montreal due to the recent success of the Blue Jays and their exhibition game series in this city over the last three years.

Montreal fans partied in Cooperstown when Pedro Martinez went into the Hall of Fame as a Red Sox.

The new commissioner of baseball, Rob Manfred, has mentioned Montreal as a possible expansion site.

When Rock makes his way to Cooperstown, the vibe surrounding his induction will be completely different than what Carter and Dawson experienced.

Rock's Induction is Bigger

Tenth Time’s the Charm

This one is pretty simple.

This was Rock’s last chance at getting into Cooperstown by way of the baseball writers’ ballots.

The sense of urgency around Raines’ situation spurred several crusaders into action. Montreal Expos fans took to Twitter to campaign on his behalf.

Jonah Keri led the charge.

It’s a crime that Tim Raines, the second-best leadoff hitter in history, waited ten years to become a Hall of Famer.

However, due to the efforts of Expos fans and stat junkies across the internet, Raines is finally getting the credit he deserves.

Expos fans played a greater role in Rock’s induction than the Kid’s or the Hawk’s. Social media campaigning made that possible.

That will only make the party on July 30 even sweeter.

These are all reasons why Rock’s induction is bigger than the others.

2003 felt like the final chapter of a dying franchise. 2010 was a nostalgic epilogue. 2017 feels like the beginning of a brand new story.

It just feels right.

 

MTL Baseball Community Mourns Passing of Geoff Bawart

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I just wanted to say a few words to pay my respects to Geoff Bawart, who passed away January 22.

For those who didn’t know Geoff, he was the Vice-President of the Lac St-Louis Tigers organization in Baseball Quebec. He was also a coach, a senior-league player and a volunteer who gave much of his time to others in the local baseball community.

First and foremost, Geoff was by all accounts a devoted family man. He leaves behind a wife and two young sons.

This is a sad time for the local baseball community.

I got to know Geoff on the baseball field several years ago while competing against his Knights team in the Baseball West Island Senior League. I didn’t know him personally off the field, but I can tell you that nobody in the league represented himself or his team with more dignity and class than Geoff did.

You can tell a lot about someone in the way they carry themselves as a competitor in sports. Geoff Bawart was one of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with on the field.

My heart goes out to Geoff’s family and all of the people he had an impact on over the course of his life, which was cut far too short.

Baseball Quebec honoured Geoff on their Twitter feed with the following:

The Tigers organization shared the following public post by Geoff’s brother on their Facebook page:

RIP Geoff. I’ll miss seeing you on the diamond.

After a Ten-Year Wait, Raines Elected to Hall of Fame

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Tim Raines (as manager of the Newark Bears) has been elected to the Hall of Fame.

After ten long years, the wait is finally over.

Tim Raines has been elected into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame, joining Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez as the 2017 inductees that were announced tonight at 6PM.

For weeks, Montrealers and Expos fans from all over wondered whether Raines would be inducted in his last year of eligibility. In 2014, the Baseball Hall of Fame adjusted its rules to grant players only ten years of eligibility on ballots, as opposed to 15. This was Raines’ tenth and final year on the ballot after failing to appear on the required 75 per cent of voters’ ballots last year. He had come up just short with 69.8 per cent.

There was a strong sense leading up to tonight’s announcement that Raines would finally make the cut, as he was on over 90% of ballots made public. In the end, he made it onto 86 per cent of the ballots.

Raines, nicknamed “Rock”, will enter the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo, having played 13 seasons with the team, the bulk of his sterling 23-year career.

He was beloved by Montrealers for being able to dominate a game with his bat and his speed. He finished his career with 2,605 hits, 1,330 walks, a .294 batting average, a .385 on-base percentage, 1,571 runs scored and 808 stolen bases (fifth best all-time). His 84.7 per cent success rate for stolen bases is first all-time among players with at least 400 attempts. To put that last stat in perspective, Rickey Henderson, widely regarded as the greatest base-stealer of all-time, would have needed to steal 448 more bases without being caught in order to surpass Raines’ success rate.

This is an important moment in Expos history, as Raines will become the third Expo inducted into the Hall of Fame after Gary Carter (2003) and Andre Dawson (2010).

Tim Raines posted the following on his Twitter account:

Expos fans will no doubt travel in droves to Cooperstown, New York to celebrate with Rock when he is inducted on July 30.