50 ans en Montréal pour les Expos.
The theme of the 2019 Toronto Blue Jays in Montréal is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Montréal Expos.
Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler mentioned Expos legends in attendance: Felipe Alou, Larry Walker, Claude Raymond, and Dennis Martinez. Other reports mentioned Steve Rogers. The Blue Jays announcers noted that the loudest ovation was for Felipe Alou, the manager of the 1994 Expos with the best record in baseball.
The Montréal Expos joined the National League in 1969 and played at Jarry Park on the city's north side through the 1976 season. The Expos played at Olympic Stadium from 1977 until the removal of the franchise after the 2004 season.
The bigger news of the week might have been the announcement of a potential new site for a ballpark near the Peel Basin just south of the Bell Centre.
"Don’t have to say we need to be ready," Stephen Bronfman said. "We are ready."
Bronfman, the executive chairman of Claridge Inc. and son of the original majority owner (Charles) of les Expos from 1968-1990, is leading a group of Montreal businesspeople to bring a MLB team back to Montréal.
The #Brewers will be without Ryan Braun for the two games in Montreal against the Blue Jays. Sounds like he thought he had his passport with him but turns out he didn't. So, couldn't come to Canada.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) March 25, 2019
All-star Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun didn't make the trip to Montréal. Tom Hardricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Braun forgot his passport and couldn't come to Canada. Manager Craig Counsell said Braun thought he had his passport with him in Arizona.
A lost passport does happen to the best of us, but could also serve as a "I don't really want to go" excuse.
Braun would have had a working passport to get into Toronto in April 2017, the last time the Brewers were in Canada. Braun played in both games at Rogers Centre.
Braun received a 65-game suspension by MLB in 2013 for performance-enhancing drugs.
Canadian Brett Lawrie is a part of the Milwaukee Brewers organisation, but Lawrie is in the middle of long-term rehabilitation with the club. Lawrie last played baseball with the Chicago White Sox since the middle of the 2016 season.
New Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo has some history with the Montréal Expos. Montoyo was a September call-up for the Expos in 1993. He was late in arrival to Olympic Stadium but delivered a game-winning hit with his first (of 2) major league hits. Montoyo met with the press sitting in the exact spot in the dugout where he sat as a player on that fateful day. Montoyo retired with a .400 batting average with 2 hits in 5 at-bats.
Toronto Blue Jays draw Milwaukee Brewers as 2019 opponents in Montreal
2019 Toronto Blue Jays spring training schedule
CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage
MLB Network ran a condensed version of Monday's game in a 2-hour, 50-minute timeslot. The channel's previous worst mark was 2½ hours of a potential 3-hour timeslot.
Rogers Sportsnet continues its shift to de-emphasize the Montréal element of the games. No interviews of past Expos. Arash Madani did speak about the Bronfman group and reunion, but not until the top of the 8th inning of Monday's game. The U.S. audience on MLB Network didn't see any of that limited coverage.
Buck and Pat had a nice interview with Richard Griffin, the new director of baseball media for the Blue Jays. Griffin had been with the Toronto Star since 1995. Griffin talked about his days working for the Montréal Expos from 1973 to 1995.
Eric Sogard had the game-winning hit in the 7th inning in Tuesday's game to give Toronto a split with Milwaukee.
The attendance was slightly down from last season. The series drew 46,984, down from 51,151 in 2018. The Monday-Tuesday pairings were expected to reduce the attendance from the 43,000-53,000 crowds the Montréal games grew when the format was Friday-Saturday.
Toronto now has a 6-5-1 record in the exhibition games in Montréal.
Toronto Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium in Montréal
| Date | Opponent | Score | Attendance |
| March 26, 2019 | Milwaukee | Toronto 2-0 | 22,502 |
| March 25, 2019 | Milwaukee | Milwaukee 10-5 | 24,482 |
| March 27, 2018 | St. Louis | Toronto 1-0 | 25,816 |
| March 26, 2018 | St. Louis | St. Louis 5-3 | 25,335 |
| April 1, 2017 | Pittsburgh | Toronto 6-4 | 52,202 |
| March 31, 2017 | Pittsburgh | Tie 1-1 | 43,180 |
| April 2, 2016 | Boston | Boston 7-4 | 53,420 |
| April 1, 2016 | Boston | Boston 4-2 (10) | 52,682 |
| April 4, 2015 | Cincinnati | Toronto 9-1 | 50,231 |
| April 3, 2015 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati 2-0 | 46,314 |
| March 29, 2014 | NY Mets | Toronto 2-0 | 50,229 |
| March 28, 2014 | NY Mets | Toronto 5-4 | 46,121 |
photos credit: Rogers Sportsnet/Toronto Blue Jays/MLB
Twitter capture: @Haudricourt
Comments