Expos scrapbook

[Augustin_"Gus"]

It's kind of strange to tell you the truth. I had been on with the Expos all my life. I knew the milestones, the records, the playoff performance... You could talk about Miguel Dilone, Rick Dehart, Jim Wolford, Marc Valdes... I knew those guys, I had seen them play. I knew about Jarry Park, the big O, the 82 All-star game, I knew the commentators, the coaches... Now I find myself "rooting" for a team I know close to nothing about. I spent some time recently reading about Sportmans park, the new stadium they are building in St-Louis, the World series titles (right now, I'm just trying to learn the years "My" team won the WS. 48 and 67 against Boston, 82 against Milwaukee... besides that I'm not so sure. I'm trying to learn about Hornsby, Musial, Gibson and the crew. I guess you could say it's a work in progress. So far I'm not regretting my choice.

I'm gonna watch my first game as a Cards fan tomorrow night against the Dodgers. We'll see how that works.

[Ontarioguy]

I know exactly what you mean when trying to learn a new teams history. I'm having the same difficulties when dealing with the Yankees. It just seems so overwhelming, there's so much greatness to learn about. I know Babe wore 3, Gehrig wore 4, Mantle Wore 7 and Maris wore 9. I'm thinking Rizzuto wore 10 but I'm not sure. I don't know any of the other retired numbers by heart, such as Elston Howard, Billy Martin and Thurman Munson. It really is like starting from scratch.

As for naming WS years, waaaay too many. (although I can do it with the Habs but I'm a huge Habs fan) I'm still trying to remember which manager guided which dynasty.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

That's the good thing with the habs and the Yankees. You name a year, you have a 1 out of 4 (approx.) chance of getting it right.

1993, 1986, 79, 78, 77, 76, 72, 71... Did they won any in the sixties? 60, 59, 58, 57, 56... I'm only halfway there... To think I consider myself a Canadiens fan...

I think I'm gonna get one of those signature with all the years of the Cardinals pennants and WS on my posts. I should learn it in no time.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

Let's wish a (belated) happy birthday to Joey Eischen who turned 35 yesterday. I've got a little trivia about Joey. He was part of two trades that respectively moved from and brought to this city two very unique inidviduals, in 1991 and 1995. Could you tell me who those players were? They both had pretty cool nicknames.

Answer in the next post.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

On July 21st, 1991, the Expos acquired Joey Eischen and pitchers Jonathan Hurst and Travis Buckley (???) from the Texas Rangers in return for Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd. And on may 23rd, 1995, they sent Eichen and Roberto Kelly to Los Angeles in exchange for Jeff Treadway and "Oh" Henry Rodriguez.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

I'd like to tip my hat to St-John New Brunswick native and former Expo (briefly), Matt Stairs who hit his 200th career HR last night. Not the kind of numbers that will get you into the Hall of fame, obviously. But if you get to 200 Homers in the majors, that means your doing something right, and youve been doing it for a while. Congrats Matt.

While we are on the topic of former Expos, one former Expo who's having a good season is Chad Cordero. 2-1 with 14 saves and a 1,38 ERA in 26 innings pitched. He struck out 24 while giving up 8 walks. And let's not forget, he's just 23 years old.

[Chicoutimi CP]

You're right, 200 HRs is definitely not Hall of Fame numbers. But before this season, only 254 players had reached that milestone. So that's quite respectable...

[Augustin_"Gus"]

Orlando Cabrera got a great reception from the Boston fans, in his return to Fenway on saturday. And the color guy on NESN (don't know who he is), discussing the letting go of Cabrera to sign Renteria said quote:"I think everybody in baseball would agree that Renteria is a better player than Cabrera".

Maybe I'm too partisan here, but I truely believe that the guy got a little bit carried away. Everybody in baseball would agree that Greg Maddux is a better pitcher than Luis Aquino. But would everybody agree Renteria is better than Cabrera? Without any kind of a discussion? Seem's like a bit of a stretch to me.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

While were on the topic of declarations I don't fully agree with, I heard on the radio this morning that one of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds (think it was Chris Sabo, but I wasn't fully awake at that point in time) who's working for the nationals compared his trio of relievers (Cordero, Ayala, and - of all people- Gary Majewski) to the Nasty Boys. I mean, Cordero's good and getting better, Ayala is a guy that can help a team and Majewski... But to compare them to the Nasty Boys? Let's look at some raw numbers, shall we? In 1990, Myers, Dibble and Charlton put together won 24 games, had 44 saves, had ERA's of 2,08; 1,74 and 2,74 respectively. They gave up 142 walks, while striking out 351 batters in 338 innings pitched. And in addition to that, the three of them combined for 8 and 2/3 shutout innings in the world series, that the Reds won in 4. So let's not get carried away.

I mean, I like pulling comparaisons out of your rear end as much as the next guy, but what's next Chris? I got one for you, how does that sounds:" Rauch and Loiza, and two days of rain".

It's catchy.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

Little piece of trivia for you. In the history of the Montréal Expos, only one player hit 3 homeruns in a game more than once. Who is it?

Hint: Late seventies, early eighties. Answer in the next post.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

Mister Larry Parrish, is the only Expo to hit 3 homers in a game more than once. Actually, he did it three times, always on the road, always on three consecutive at-bats. At St-Louis on May 29th, 1977, at Atlanta on July 30th, 1978 and finally, once again at Fulton-County Stadium on April 25th, 1980.

If you got it right, good for you!

[awexpos4ever]

Here's one that is rarely answered correctly:

Who was the 1st Expos (signed)?

[Augustin_"Gus"]

I'll go with Donn Clendenon, but it's really a guess.

[awexpos4ever]

Answer: Dave Hartman, a free-agent pitcher on September 10, 1968 - a full month before the expansion draft - I haven't found any evidence to any other signing before the draft so he may have been the ONLY Expos - Hartman never played in the majors and appears to have been a late cut in spring training - he is featured in an interview in the 1969 Expos film ("One-Hundred-And-One")


Question: First Canadien signed by the Expos?

[edclinch]

I loved the Expos first and foremost because of Tim Raines. I grew up between two tv markets in south central Indiana: Cubs and Reds. But the triple A affiliate was the Indianapolis Indians, whom I saw play against Raines in 1986. We saw even smaller Al "What me Worry? Newman."

two questions for all Expos-aficionados.

WHat Expo had the best strike out to RBI ratio, both with Montreal and and in his career? (Raines had career 980 RBI and less SOs.)
Secondly: where was the thriple A farm club located during Montreal's 36 year history?

[awexpos4ever]

Triple-A teams:

1969 Vancouver
1970 Buffalo Bisons which were moved to Winnipeg Whips (through 1971)
1972-1973 Pennisula Whips
1974-1975 Memphis Blues
1976-1981 Denver Bears
1982-1983 Wichita Aeros (changed name to Expos for 1983)
1984-1992 Indianapolis Indians
1993-2002 Ottawa Lynx
2003-2004 Edmonton Trappers

[Chicoutimi CP]

"WHat Expo had the best strike out to RBI ratio, both with Montreal and and in his career?"

Here's the first part answer with a few details :
1-Al Oliver is by far the best, but we have to remember he played just for two seasons. He had 103 SOs and 193 RBIs (ratio 0,534 SO/RBI).
2-Darrin Fletcher is second, 191 SOs and 300 RBIs (ratio 0,637 SO/RBI).
3-Vlad is third, 484 SOs and 702 RBIs (ratio 0,689 SO/RBI).
4-For your info, Raines would come at no. 23 among the players with at least 500 ABs. His ratio is 1,023. ---But compared to the other 15 Expos having at least 2500 ABs, he's #6 right behind Vlad, Cabrera, Vidro, Carter and Foli.---

For their career, here's what it may look like. Due to my limited resources (I don't have sophisticated software as many guys here do), I have established a range so I could start with guys having compiled 200 SOs and 200 RBIs lifetime. So I think I'm close to the truth, at the very least. Lets's say the best of all time would be Tris Speaker -220 SOs, 1529 RBIs, ratio 0,144-. But older players such as Speaker often have incomplete stats regarding SOs (possibly because they were not compiled back then, or they were simply lost, or maybe both).

For the Expos now :
#224 : Al Oliver (756 SOs, 1326 RBIs, ratio : 0,570)
#253 : Le Grand Orange (888 SOs, 1466 RBIs, ratio : 0,606)
#325 : Vlad (558 SOs, 828 RBIs, ratio : 0,674)

I hope that's what you were lookin for.

Have a nice Saturday, everyone.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

Josh Labandeira, one of the really bad memories I have of the end of last season, got busted and suspended for using illegal substances. Frankly, the only thing I found him guilty of last september, was being a remarkably inept ball player. If I was him, I would double the dose of wathever he was taking.

[Ontarioguy]

Wow, I had already completely forgot about Labandeira...Soon, I won't even remember guys like Macier Izturis...

Anyone watching Live 8 today??

[Ontarioguy]

Coco Laboy turns 66 today. Happy Birthday Coco!

Born in Ponce P.R., Coco was the starting, rookie, 3rd baseman for the 1969 Expos. He hit 18 HR's and led the team with 83 RBI's. His rookie season would be his best as he would never come close to repeating those numbers again. His final year in the Big League's was 1973. Coco played 420 games, all for the Expos.

Moises Alou turns 39 today, aswell.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

On july 9th, 1973, Expos pitching established a team record for mediocrity by giving up 15 walks to the Cincinnati Reds, including 5 in 2 innings by reliever Joe Gilbert. Turns out that Gilbert gave up a BB every 1 2/3 innings he pitched during his brief stint in the majors (37 in 62 IP).



Cincinnati Reds 11, Montreal Expos 6

Game played on Monday, July 9, 1973 at Parc Jarry

Cincinnati Reds ab r h rbi
Rose lf 2 2 1 0
Morgan 2b 3 2 2 2
Driessen 3b 3 1 1 0
Menke ph,3b 1 1 0 0
Bench c 4 1 2 3
Perez 1b 5 1 2 0
Tolan cf,rf 5 1 1 2
Concepcion ss 4 0 0 0
Stahl rf 1 0 0 0
Kosco ph,rf 0 1 0 0
Geronimo cf 1 0 0 0
Hall p 2 0 0 0
Borbon p 0 0 0 0
Gagliano ph 1 0 0 0
Sprague p 0 0 0 0
King ph 1 1 1 4
Carroll p 1 0 0 0

Totals 34 11 10 11

Montreal Expos ab r h rbi
Hunt 2b 4 1 1 2
Mashore lf 2 0 0 0
Day ph,lf,cf 1 0 0 0
Scott p 0 0 0 0
Bailey 3b 5 1 1 0
Breeden 1b 4 1 2 1
Woods cf 1 0 0 0
Fairly ph,lf 1 1 1 0
Singleton rf 4 0 1 1
Boccabella c 5 0 1 0
Frias ss 4 1 2 2
Stoneman p 0 0 0 0
Renko ph 0 1 0 0
Walker p 0 0 0 0
Humphrey ph 1 0 0 0
Gilbert p 1 0 0 0
Jarvis p 0 0 0 0
Strohmayer p 0 0 0 0
Jorgensen ph,cf 2 0 1 0

Totals 35 6 10 6

Cincinnati 3 0 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 – 11 10 1
Montreal 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 – 6 10 1

Cincinnati Reds IP H R ER BB SO

Hall 3.0 3 4 4 7 6
Borbon 1.0 1 0 0 1 0
Sprague W (1-3)1.0 0 0 0 0 1
Carroll SV (6) 4.0 6 2 2 2 1

Montreal Expos IP H R ER BB SO

Stoneman 2.0 4 3 3 2 1
Walker 1.0 1 1 1 2 1
Gilbert L (1-2) 2.0 1 2 2 5 1
Jarvis 0.2 3 5 0 4 0
Strohmayer 2.1 0 0 0 1 0
Scott 1.0 1 0 0 1 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E–Concepcion (12), Jarvis (2). DP–Cincinnati 2, Montreal 1. 2B–Cincinnati Bench (10,off Stoneman), Montreal Hunt (10,off Hall); Breeden (6,off Hall); Jorgensen (7,off Carroll); Bailey (13,off Carroll). HR–Cincinnati Morgan (11,1st inning off Stoneman 1 on, 0 out); Bench (16,3rd inning off Walker 0 on, 0 out); King (3,6th inning off Jarvis 3 on, 2 out). SH–Menke (3,off Jarvis); Mashore (5,off Borbon). SF–Bench (6,off Jarvis). IBB–Stahl (3,by Walker); Kosco (3,by Jarvis). SB–Concepcion (17,2nd base off Walker/Boccabella). CS–Morgan (10,2nd base by Gilbert/Boccabella). WP–Walker (1). IBB–Walker (7,Stahl); Jarvis (2,Kosco). U–Paul Pryor, Bruce Froemming, Terry Tata, Ed Vargo. T–3:08. A–27,324.

[Chicoutimi CP]

On this day in history, in 1969, at Parc Jarry, Kevin Collins became the first pinch-hitter to hit a home run for the Expos, a three run shot in the 6th inning off Jim Bunning, at the time with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Expos were then taking a 4-2 lead only to see the Bucks tie the score in the 7th. But in the 8th, Ty Cline and Coco Laboy hit consecutive doubles to give the Expos a 5-4 win.

Kevin Collins had been acquired by Montreal on June 15, 1969 from the New York Mets with Steve Renko, Bill Carden and Dave Colon in exchange for Donn Clendenon. His contract was sold to the Detroit Tigers on August 2, 1970. With the Expos, he played 52 games (all in 1969) as an infield backup. He maintained a .240 batting average (23/96), 2 home runs, and 12 RBIs. He was the best PH of the team in 1969 with Cline, going 10/29, 1 HR and 6 RBIs.

[Chicoutimi CP]

On this day in history, in 1982, Gary Carter hits a 3 run home run in the first innning while Steve Rogers pitches a complete game to give the Expos a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It is the 1000th victory in the history of the team. Overall, the Expos won 2755 games between April 1969 and October 2004.

[Chicoutimi CP]

1991 - Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game as the Montreal Expos beat Los Angeles 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. That was the 13th perfect game in Major League Baseball's history.

[Ontarioguy]

"El Presidente, El Perfecto!" - Dave Van Horne, right after Marquis Grissom caught that final out.