August 18, 2002: Montreal, Quebec

I write this on the morning after the Montreal Expos organization played its first home game as the Washington Nationals. Much has occurred since Mike and I made our visit to Olympic Stadium, located in the great city of Montreal. In 2002, Major League Baseball purchased the Expos from then-owner Jeffrey Loria. With control of the Expos, MLB had every intention to move them from Montreal. This was a far cry from the days when the Montreal Expos were the model organization of Major League Baseball. They fielded great teams comprised of homegrown talent. At one time the Expos had two of the greatest pitchers ever, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson, not to mention Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter and All-Stars like Andre “The Hawk” Dawson, Tim “Rock” Raines, Andres “The Big Cat” Galarraga, and Dennis “El Presidente” Martinez. The Expos finished in the top four in attendance for five consecutive years (1979 to 1983). They had what seemed to be a National League East Division-winning team in 1994, but with Major League Baseball going on strike that August, the Expos’ 74-40 record was for naught. Baseball in Montreal was never the same since the players and owners ended Expos fans’ dreams of a World Series title. [Read more…]