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All-Century Roster: Expos
By Gary Brooks
SportsLine Baseball Editor
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The Expos' past is filled with stars. Unfortunately, most of them reached the greatest heights of their careers either before or after they wore Montreal uniforms.
 | | | Moises Alou and the 1994 Expos were robbed of their shot at greatness.(Allsport) | |
Montreal, in the latter part of the '90s, became a proving ground for stars who left the financially challenged organization when their service time allowed them free agency or forced a trade before they became free agents.
The lack of continuity has kept the Expos from arriving to stay as a contender. The franchise has had contending moments but never been able to break completely into the international baseball consciousness.
In 1973,
just their fourth season, it was a stretch of nine losses in 10 games that
wiped out the team's playoff hopes in September. In 1981, the Expos reached
the NLCS but had their shot at the World Series erased by a game-winning
ninth-inning home run by Rick Monday of the Dodgers.
Then in 1994, with a superstar outfield of Moises Alou, Marquis Grissom and Larry Walker, the
Expos led the NL by six games on August 12 when the season ended amid a demoralizing strike/lockout.
In 1995, with Walker and Grissom off to Colorado and Atlanta, the Expos
were again back in last place, which they familiarized themselves with
through the end of the decade.
Lineup
| Gary Carter, Catcher, 1974-84, '92 |
| Carter caught the third-most games in history and has more putouts than any
catcher ever. Though he began his career as an outfielder and didn't
convert to catcher full time until 1977, he was outstanding behind the
plate, rarely letting balls get by him. He was also a clutch hitter who won
two All-Star Game MVPs. Carter's brightest stardom came in his years with
the Mets when he helped them win the World Series but as an Expo he was a
key part of a team that was a contender each season from 1979-81. His 220
homers as an Expo are second most in team history. |
| Andres Galarraga, 1B, 1985-91 |
| In his prime, Galarraga was known as the smoothest first baseman around. He
also packed quite a wallop at the plate, though his superstar offensive
numbers came after he left the Expos. He evolved into one of the best
all-around first basemen in the NL in 1988 when he was an All-Star and led
the league's first basemen in hits (184), doubles (42) and average (.305).
He hit 106 home runs in six seasons with Montreal. |
| Delino DeShields, 2B, 1990-93 |
| There was a time when DeShields was considered to be among the best young
players in the game. He averaged 47 steals over his four Expos seasons and
hit .292 and .295 in 1992 and 1993. Perhaps his greatest value to the Expos
though was being traded to the Dodgers for Pedro Martinez, who won the NL Cy
Young Award in 1997 before moving on to Boston. |
| Chris Speier, SS, 1977-84 |
| Speier was an All-Star before his Expos tenure and played solid, if not
spectacularly for five seasons as Montreal's starting shortstop. Speier
still shares the Expos record with eight RBI in one game against
Philadelphia in 1982. |
| Tim Wallach, 3B, 1980-92 |
| Wallach was a steady presence at the hot corner for more than a decade,
appearing in five All-Star games. He is the Expos' leader in games played
(1,767), hits (1,694) and RBI (905). He won Gold Gloves in 1985 and '88.
His best offensive season came in 1987 when he moved into the cleanup spot
and drove in a then team-record 123 runs. |
| Tim Raines, OF, 1979-90 |
| Raines appeared in seven All-Star games in an Expos uniform, tied with
Carter for most in team history. He primarily impacted games with his
speed, stealing 634 bases in his 11 Montreal seasons, but also had moderate
power. His 1,598 hits are second and 934 runs first in the Expos' record book. |
| Andre Dawson, OF, 1976-86 |
| If only the Expos had played on grass, Dawson might have remained a career
Expo and put up statistics far better than anyone else in team history and
among the best in the game. As it was, with aching knees, Dawson was an
outstanding right fielder in Montreal. He had all five tools, hitting for
average and power, showing terrific speed and defense and throwing with
accuracy and strength. Dawson was often overshadowed by Gary Carter but was
truly an outstanding player. He played in three All-Star games as an Expo.
His best season was 1983 when he led the league with 189 hits, hit 32
homers, drove in 113 runs and scored 104. |
| Vladimir Guerrero, OF, 1996-99 |
| As a new century begins, the Dominican superstar is poised to become the
best player in the game. Guerrero had a phenomenal first three seasons.
During an injury-plagued rookie season he hit .302 with 40 RBI. Healthy in
1998, he ballooned to 38 homers and 109 RBI. By last season, he'd etched a
permanent spot among the game's greats, setting Montreal records with 42
home runs and 131 RBI. If not for several gaffes in the outfield, he might
be the most complete player in the NL. |
Pitchers
| Pedro Martinez, SP, 1994-97 |
| Martinez became too good for the financially troubled Expos to keep when he
became the first Montreal pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in 1997. He
only had 17 wins but was overpowering, becoming the 14th pitcher to
strike out 300 batters and posting a 1.90 ERA. He was 55-33 in
Montreal after being cast away by the Dodgers. |
| Steve Rogers, SP, 1973-85 |
| Though Rogers never fully reached the expectations for him to become a
20-game winner, he is the winningest pitcher in team history with 158
victories. Rogers was a five-time All-Star who also holds Montreal records
for complete games (129) and shutouts (37). |
| Dennis Martinez, SP, 1986-93 |
| Martinez resurrected his career by going 100-72, winning the second-most games
in team history and moving the most games past .500 for any Expos pitcher.
He led the NL with a 2.39 ERA in 1991. On July 28 that season, at Los
Angeles, Martinez pitched the best game in team history, a perfect game,
2-0 win. |
| Bryn Smith, SP, 1981-89 |
| Smith was never drafted and spent seven seasons in the minors but once he
grabbed a spot in the Montreal rotation in 1984 he became a consistent
contributor. He won at least 10 games each year from 1984-89 with his peak
season being 1985 when he went 18-5 with a 2.91 ERA. |
| Bill Gullickson, SP, 1979-85 |
| Gullickson once equaled a major-league record with six wild pitches in a
game but for the most part he was a much better pitcher than his occasional
wildness suggested. Other than the strike-shortened 1981 season he won 12
games in each season with Montreal, topping out with 17 wins in 1983. He
was 72-61 with the Expos. |
| Jeff Reardon, RP, 1981-86 |
| As the game evolved and closers began to be used like they are today in the
early '80s, Reardon set the standard for their expected performance. He was
the only reliever with 20 or more saves each season from 1982 to 1988 and
led the majors with 41 in 1985. He went on to great success with the Twins
as well. He's fourth on the career saves list with 367. |
| Bench |
| Larry Walker, Warren Cromartie, Larry Parrish, Marquis Grissom,
Hubie Brooks, Ellis Valentine, Rusty Staub, Moises Alou, Al Oliver, Bob
Bailey, Mark Grudzielanek |
| Best season |
| In 1981, Andre Dawson and Gary Carter were in their prime and
the Expos lineup was jump-started by a young catalyst in Tim Raines who
stole 71 bases, 32 more than anyone else in the league. The team had decent
pitching -- Charlie Lea pitched a no-hitter and Steve Rogers won 12 games
to tie for third in the NL. Rogers outpitched Steve Carlton in Game 1 of the
Division Series made necessary by the split season due to the strike.
Rogers then pitched a six-hit shutout to beat the Phils in Game 5, again
beating Carlton, and the Expos were on to their first NLCS. The LCS went to
a deciding fifth game and the Expos were just a ninth-inning, two-run homer
by L.A.'s Rick Monday away from reaching the World Series. |
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| Worst season |
| In 1975, the Expos finished last in the NL East but they
weren't too pathetic at 75-87. A young star was emerging in Gary
Carter so there was hope of getting out of the cellar. Then came a complete
collapse with 107 losses in 1976. Montreal had 10 more losses than any
other team in baseball and finished 46 games behind the Phillies. The team
was last in the NL with a .235 batting average and last with a 3.99 team ERA. |
| Best individual season, player |
| Others have finished higher in MVP
balloting but from a sheer numbers perspective, Vladimir Guerrero's 1999
season was the most outstanding in the Expos' 31 seasons. Guerrero set
eight single-season team records, was in the NL's top 10 in 11 offensive
categories and had a 31-game hitting streak, the longest in team history. |
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| Best individual season, pitcher |
| Pedro Martinez, in 1997, became the first
pitcher since Steve Carlton in 1972 to have over 300 strikeouts and an ERA
under 2.00. The previous right-hander to do it was Walter Johnson in
1912. Those numbers made up for his 17-9 record and propelled him to
his first Cy Young Award. |
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