Montreal Expos | 20 years without love

The Expos left us 20 years ago and they are not coming back any time soon. The divorce is final. We are left with a box full of memories.

The Automuch by Gary Carter

The Expos catcher was immensely popular… with the public. It wasn’t always so obvious in the locker room where his celebrity made people jealous. At the height of his fame, Carter was hired by Dodge and Plymouth to promote a new automobile concept: the family minivan. The Dodge Caravan, called the Automuch in French please in advertising, would revolutionize the market and become one of the first giant-sized vehicles on our roads.

See the autolot commercial with Gary Carter

The Mayor of Jonesville

The first edition of the Expos was nothing glorious. Lots of players abandoned by their teams: overpaid veterans at the end of their careers, young second-rate prospects and players who couldn’t crack the roster of their former teams. However, the boundless enthusiasm of fans demanded a hero. In the first game at Jarry Park, outfielder Mack Jones gave them that instant hero by hitting a long home run over the popular bleachers, straight into the pool in the back. The section was immediately called Jonesville and Mack Jones was elected mayor there.

The Big Orange

Gourmet and lover of great wines, the friendly right fielder Rusty Staub became the star of the Expos in their first seasons. A favorite among fans, this tall redhead was the ideal spokesperson to advertise Orangeade Crush. He inherited the fantastic nickname of Grand Orange.

Staub wasn’t the only one to have his name associated with a food product. Obtained inexpensively from the Dodgers, Henry Rodriguez had a phenomenal season in 1996. At each of his 36 home runs, spectators flooded the field with Oh Henry! chocolate bars.

Additionally, pitcher Bryn Smith’s wife says she has to go to the United States to buy her Doritos. Error. The names Bryn Smith and Doritos remain forever associated…

See the Orangeade Crush ad

Chips, pinottesCracker Jack…

Jean-Guy Black sold bags of peanuts in the stands for several years. His striped shirt, his kepi and his friendly face made him the most popular seller in the stadium. But it is above all the astonishing precision of his throw of the bag of pinottes who made him famous. Even if you were in the center of the 10^e top row, all you had to do was raise your arm and the bag landed in the palm of your hand.

Some nights, he was clearly the most accurate pitcher in the ballpark.

See Jean-Guy Black, the king of pinottes!

Good evening, she’s gone!

“Hey Linda, play the tape of the Chicago Cubs against our Expos…” said Elvis Gratton on the beach at Santa Banana to his sweetheart who preferred the tape of the San Diego Padres.

Baseball is the ultimate sport to listen to on the radio. Slow sport that leaves long pauses for commentators to ramble on all sorts of topics. All interspersed with bursts of brilliance highlighted by sudden howls from the describers. The undisputed king was surely Rodger Brulotte and his famous: “Good evening, she’s gone” which highlighted each circuit of our Expos.

Blue White Red

Pitcher Bill Lee once said of the Expos’ tricolor cap: “All it’s missing is a propeller on the top.” » Despite the disappearance of the Expos 20 years ago, Expos caps still remain among the most popular in major baseball. Thanks to the rappers who made it an iconic logo.

Vladimir, Vladimir…

Speaking of Brulotte, the team’s last editions gave him few opportunities to let out his famous howl. Fortunately, there was Vladimir Guerrero, the most talented player in franchise history. A free electron, Vlad could spring on a ball a foot outside home plate and catapult it into the right bleachers. His cannon arm allowed him to perform spectacular relays and he liked to use it a little too much – sometimes at the wrong time. His departure sounded the death knell for the concession.

Fire sale

At the forefront of major baseball, the Expos are having the best season in their history, but a heartbreaking strike puts an end to the season and the championship hopes of Montrealers. We are arguing about the establishment of a salary cap. Worried about their profitability, the team’s owners carried out a “fire sale” which would be fatal to the concession. Gone are Ken Hill, Marquis Grissom, John Wetteland and Larry Walker. A ride that will be repeated from season to season. An agreement occurs the following season: no salary cap will be introduced and the players emerge as big winners from this agreement. The Expos are the big losers.

With ifs, we go to series

Today, six teams per league reach the playoffs thanks to the best-second rule introduced in 1995. What would have happened if it had been established upon the arrival of the Expos?

The Expos would thus have reached the series in 1979, then in 1980. In 1981, the only real participation in the series, the circuit of Rick Monday put an end to the World Series dreams of our Loves. The team would have made the playoffs five more times between 1987 and 1996. Ultimately, this means that our Expos would have made the playoffs eight times* rather than just one in their history. Who knows what could have happened?

*The count includes the 1994 season when the series were canceled.