Maicer Izturis had been with the Toronto Blue Jays for awhile, but was struggling with injuries. Izturis is a handful of players who have played for both of Canada's MLB teams.
In Blue Jays camp this spring, Izturis said his body couldn't take it anymore. So that left only one active MLB player who had played with the Montréal Expos: Bartolo Colon.
When the Expos were done in Montréal in 2004, no one would have predicted that Bartolo Colon would be the last remaining Expo. Colon, who will turn 43 in May, outlasted Izturis and Bruce Chen, who retired in 2015.
What makes Colon the ironic last remaining Expos player is that he was the acquisition in 2002 in a desperate attempt to compete. The Expos traded away 3 future All-Stars to get Colon: Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, and Grady Sizemore. All 3 are active, but since they never wore a Montréal Expos uniform, they aren't eligible.
Colon went 10-4 in 2002 for the Expos. Since the team couldn't afford the acquisition, the team traded him to the Chicago White Sox. The key player they got back was Orlando Hernandez, who had a fine career. The problem was that in 2003, Hernandez missed the entire season due to a rotator cuff injury in his throwing shoulder. By 2004, Hernandez was back with the New York Yankees with nothing in return.
Colon won the Cy Young Award in 2005 with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with a 21-8 record.
---
Looking back on that 2004 team, Jose Video and Orlando Cabrera were great up the middle in the infield. Brad Wilkerson had a hot bat at 1st base. None of them would be the last Expo standing.
My money was on Brendan Harris, a scrappy utility infielder, who I thought would sneak through and hang in a long time. Harris retired in 2013 at the age of 32.
Scott Downs had a good shot since he was a crafty left-handed pitcher and they last forever. Downs, who left the Expos for 6 seasons in Toronto, lasted until 2014 with Kansas City at the age of 38.
Turns out Izturis was the last member of the 2004 Montréal Expos.
---
Even 12 years later, remembering the 2004 Montréal Expos is bittersweet, rooting for a team that was doomed to be forced out by MLB. So let's end this on a hopeful note. We know Bartolo Colon will be the last remaining Expos player in a MLB uniform. But who was technically the first Montréal Expos player?
Manny Mota is known for a long career as a pinch-hit specialist, mostly with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and for being mentioned as a pinch-hitter for Pedro Borbon in the film "Airplane." At the time, Mota was an outfielder with Pittsburgh.
The Expos, along with the San Diego Padres, selected unprotected players from the established 10 National League franchises after the 1968 season.
Player | Original Team |
Manny Mota | Pittsburgh |
Mack Jones | Cincinnati |
John Bateman | Houston |
Gary Sutherland | Philadelphia |
Jack Billingham | Los Angeles |
Donn Clendenon | Pittsburgh |
Jesús Alou | San Francisco |
Mike Wegener | Philadelphia |
Skip Guinn | Atlanta |
Bill Stoneman | Chicago |
Maury Wills | Pittsburgh |
Larry Jackson | Philadelphia |
Bob Reynolds | San Francisco |
Dan McGinn | Cincinnati |
José Herrera | Houston |
Jimy Williams | Cincinnati |
Remy Hermoso | Atlanta |
Mudcat Grant | Los Angeles |
Jerry Robertson | St. Louis |
Don Shaw | New York |
Ty Cline | San Francisco |
Garry Jestadt | Chicago |
Carl Morton | Atlanta |
Larry Jaster | St. Louis |
Ernie McAnally | New York |
Jim Fairey | Los Angeles |
Coco Laboy | St. Louis |
John Boccabella | Chicago |
Ron Brand | Houston |
John Glass | New York |
Expansion lists are only the beginning. Larry Jackson decided to retire rather than play for Montréal. The Phillies sent infielder Bobby Wine as a result, a nice upgrade.
Donn Clendenon had a brief career with the Expos but made a lot of noise in that small period of time. The Expos traded Clendenon and Jesus Alou to Houston for Rusty Staub in January 1969. Clendenon did not want to go to Houston. So the Expos sent Jack Billingham, Skip Guinn, and $100,000 to Houston in April. By June, the Expos were able to satisfactorily trade Clendenon to the New York Mets on June 15 for Steve Renko and 4 minor leaguers.
The kicker is that Clendenon batted .357 (5 for 14) with 3 home runs and was named the 1969 World Series MVP.
Renko had a nice career with the Expos, but Bellingham was a lot of talent to trade away. And yes, Jimy Williams on that list is the same man who managed the Toronto Blue Jays, though he never played a game for the Expos.
photo credit: The Associated Press
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.