1994 Montreal Expos: What Could Have Been

1994 Montreal Expos: What Could Have Been

1994 Montreal Expos: What Could Have Been

The 8th strike in Major League Baseball history began on August 12, 1994 and ended 232 days later on April 2, 1995, which would be the longest strike the game of baseball had ever endured. It is best to understand the roots of this strike before analyzing the end result. The economics of baseball were worsening in the early 1990s and the owners of all 28 teams proposed to implement a salary cap with the main reason being that small market teams would suffer unless all teams agreed to share revenues in local broadcasting. The owners saw this as a way to increase equity for all 28 teams, but the players refused to support such a proposal.

Matters were complicated because of the fact that Fay Vincent was forced to resign as MLB Commissioner in September 1992. Vincent claimed that there was collusion by the owners to sign free agent players, resulting in a theft of $280 Million by Bud Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf, owners of the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox respectively. The Director of the Major League Baseball Player’s Association Donald Fehr responded to this salary cap proposal by claiming that there was a lack of trust in figures like Selig.

On February 11, 1994 the power of the MLB Commissioner was reduced by the 28 owners for what they claim was the best interests of baseball. On June 19 the salary cap proposal was officially submitted to the MLBPA, but the proposal would be emphatically rejected on July 18. Fehr stated in his response to the proposal that it didn’t offer any benefits to the players. On December 31, 1994 Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expired without a new agreement being reached, effectively extending the strike into the 1995 spring training season.

The team that felt the most impact and devastation from this strike would be the Montreal Expos as their play on the field would indicate that they were on the verge of achieving something special. On November 19, 1993 the Expos would trade second baseman Delino DeShields to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a young and charismatic right-handed starting pitcher named Pedro Martinez. On December 13, 1993 the Expos would complete a trade with the Cleveland Indians, swapping left-handed pitcher Brian Barnes for first baseman Randy “Moose” Milligan. Barnes was revealed as the player to be named later in the trade on December 17.

The Expos had an ultra potent pitching staff in the 1994 season as starter and National League All-Star reserve Ken Hill posted a strong 16-5 record with a 3.32 earned run average and 85 strikeouts. Pedro Martinez was beginning to realize his true potential at the age of 22 as he posted an 11-5 record with a 3.42 ERA and 142 strikeouts. Out of all 5 Expos starting pitchers, only Kirk Rueter recorded an ERA above 5.00 with 5.17, and even Rueter had an impressive 7-3 record. Jeff Fassero contributed to the starting rotation as he posted an 8-6 record with a 2.99 ERA and 119 strikeouts. Butch Henry posted an 8-3 record with a 2.43 ERA and 70 strikeouts.

The back end of the bullpen appeared to be a great strength for the Expos as they had 2 reliable closers. John Wetteland and Mel Rojas were a dynamic duo of closers as they recorded 25 and 167 saves respectively. Wetteland posted a 2.83 ERA and Rojas posted a 3.32 ERA.

Felipe Alou had a very successful year as the manager of the Expos, winning awards for the Associated Press Manager of the Year and The Sporting News Manager of the Year. Felipe’s son Moises Alou would lead the way for the Expos offense as the talented left fielder batted .339 with 22 home runs, 78 runs batted in and 143 hits in 422 at-bats. Center fielder Marquis Grissom batted .288 with 11 home runs, 45 RBI and 137 hits in 475 at-bats. Shortstop Wil Cordero batted .294 with 15 home runs, 63 RBI and 122 hits in 455 at-bats. Catcher Darrin Fletcher batted .260 with 10 home runs, 57 RBI and 74 hits in 285 at-bats. Alou, Grissom, Cordero and Fletcher would all be reserves for the National League in the 1994 All-Star Game along with pitcher Ken Hill.

Although he wasn’t selected as an all-star in 1994, right fielder Larry Walker was on pace to have a great season as he batted .322 with 19 home runs, leading the team with 86 RBI and getting 127 hits in 395 at-bats.

When the strike went into full effect on August 12, 1994, the Expos had a record of 74-40, which was the best record in baseball. They went 32-20 at their home ballpark Olympic Stadium and went 42-20 on the road. The Expos were in command of the National League East division as they had a 6-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the standings. The Expos went 5-4 against the Braves in the regular season. The Expos dominated the worst team in baseball in 1994, going 12-0 against the San Diego Padres. The only 2 teams the Expos struggled against in 1994 would be the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies, going 2-4 against both teams. Excluding August the Expos averaged 17 wins per month.

As a team the Expos scored an overwhelming 585 runs in 1994, averaging 5.13 runs per game. The team posted a combined ERA of 3.56, which was the best in baseball. Along with recording 46 combined saves, the 288 walks Expos pitchers surrendered were the fewest in baseball. Many fans in Montreal, Quebec got to see the Expos play in 1994 as an estimated 1.3 million fans attended the home games. No World Series would be played to determine a champion in 1994.

On January 4, 1995 United States Congress received 5 bills that intended to end the baseball strike, and on the very next day on January 5, Donald Fehr would announce that all 895 MLB players that were unsigned would become free agents. This was a direct response to the salary cap proposal made by the owners.

On April 2, 1995 the strike finally ended just a day before replacement players would take the field for the 28 teams. Because of the strike’s lingering effects, the 1995 regular season would be shortened from 162 games to 144 games.

However, the damage had been done to the general baseball fan base, and especially the fan base of the Montreal Expos. The Expos were forced to make significant cuts to their payroll and conduct liquidation sales of their best players within a single week during the 1995 spring training season. The Expos never returned to the high levels of success that they were embracing in 1994 as they would only have 3 more respectable seasons. The Expos went 88-74 in 1996, 83-79 in 2002 and 83-79 in 2003, finishing 2nd, 2nd and 4th in the National League East division.

After the organization had been bought and run by Major League Baseball during the 2001-2002 off-season, the handwriting was on the wall for the Expos. They proceeded to play temporary home games in Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2003 and 2004 to address their lack of attendance in Montreal. On September 29, 2004 the Montreal Expos their final home game in Olympic Stadium against the Florida Marlins, and after the season concluded the team would relocate to Washington, DC to become the Washington Nationals.