Will Major League Baseball Ever Return To Montreal?

The Montreal Expos came into existence in 1969 and they faced their fare share of growing pains as an expansion team. The Expos endured 10 consecutive losing seasons before becoming a contender in 1979. That year the Expos won 95 games that year and they only finished three games behind the eventual World Series Champions in the Pittsburgh Pirates for the National League Eastern Division Title. 

In 1981, the Expos won their first and only NL East Division Title in Montreal, but they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a grueling five-game National League Championship Game Series. With the likes of future Baseball Hall of Famers in catcher Gary Carter and outfielder Andre Dawson leading the charge, the Expos remained in contention during the early 1980’s. But by 1985 Carter was traded to the Mets while Dawson was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1987. 

In 1993, the Expos won 94 games, but they finished three games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East. 1993 was the last year of the two-division format in both the National and American Leagues as the Expos would have been the NL Wild Card team if it had only been the next year. But in 1994, the Expos were on a mission as they were clearly the best team in National League. On August 11, 1994 the Expos had a record of 74-40 and they had a six-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. On that day the players strike began in Major League Baseball which abruptly ended the season and we were only left to guess and ask ourselves what could have been for the Expos that season? In 1996, the Expos finished two games behind the Dodgers for the NL Wild Card and that was their last real push at the postseason in Montreal. The Expos would continue to fall further into obscurity as by 2000 they only won 67 games.

In the mid-90’s there were plans for the Expos to receive a new stadium in Montreal, but it never came to fruition as it would have given the franchise a jolt. One of the problems that hurt the Expos was that the fans that came to Olympic Stadium paid in Canadian dollars and the players were paid in American currency. After the 1994 season the Expos were always near the bottom of attendance in MLB. On August 6, 1999 San Diego Padres outfielder and future Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn recorded his 3,000th hit in Montreal against the Expos, but only an estimated 8,000 were in attendance to see a part of baseball history. As attendance continued to sag in Montreal, MLB purchased the Expos in 2001 from Jeffrey Loria with the intention of contracting the team.

The proposed contraction never came to fruition, but the Expos days in Montreal were still numbered as by 2005 the team relocated to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals.
If the city of Montreal along with the province of Quebec are truly serious about Major League Baseball returning to their neck of the woods it can happen, but there needs to be a huge commitment from everyone involved. The Premier of Quebec in Pauline Marois along with the Mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre must come together to build a new facility that would house a baseball team, but it would be difficult due to the fact the economy in Montreal is struggling. Since Major League Baseball was last played in Montreal, six new ballparks have opened up in baseball with vast renovations to historic parks such as Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. We are living in the era of new stadiums with extravagant designs to lure fans to the ballpark. Being that Montreal is so hockey crazy why not build off of that by adding a mini skating rink as one of the amenities to a ballpark in Montreal?

Along with Carter and Dawson, the Expos were always a franchise that developed talented players. Players such as Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga, and Tim Raines blossomed with the Expos, but when it came to free agency, most of the players left town in favor of teams in America.

Aside from a stadium, whoever would be determined to bring Major League Baseball back to Montreal must also be able to secure television and radio deals while also being able to convince MLB commissioner Bud Selig or whomever would be taking over for him when he steps down soon that they are serious about bringing baseball back to Montreal. For the most part the current 30 MLB teams appear to be happy where they are at and even if they are not I do not see a team leaving the United States in favor of Canada which means that Montreal would have to go the expansion route. For that to happen it would also mean that MLB would have to find another city (in America) to house a baseball team which would bring the total to 32 clubs which could be a little far fetched.

Due to the struggling economy in Montreal it is indeed a long shot, but at least the baseball fans got another chance this past weekend to see Major League Baseball played in their city.