exposed
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart pour les Expos de Montreal. They had incredible talent during the 90’s, were screwed by the ‘94 strike, and were the team of a young, unknown Vladimir Guerrero during the turn of the century. It didn’t seem right to me that they left Montreal; it seemed even more wrong that they ended up at RFK Stadium.
On the eve of the third anniversary of the Expos final home game in Montreal, Ottawa journalist Alan Echenberg reminisced on his experience as an Expos fan, and also provided insight as to why they ended up leaving Montreal. Of interest in his discussion of the 2003 season, when the MLB-owned Expos exceeded expectations and were in the playoff hunt. Echenberg writes that the ”success was an embarrassment for the league, which was trying to kill off the team. So the league essentially undermined the Expos’ chances by refusing to allow them any September minor-league call-ups, and removed any illusion of fair competition that season.”
Wow. I never realized that that team didn’t make any September call-ups, an incredibly rare (if not unprecedented) move for an MLB team. It kind of makes you question Bud Selig even more, if that’s possible, and makes the story of the Expos that much more tragic.
