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1969 Montréal Expos 52 - 110 (6th) National League East Division did not qualify for playoffs Jarry Park 1,212,608 (7th) Montréal, Québec Owner: Charles Bronfman Washington Nationals President: John McHale << Expansion Club 1970 >> Team Stats / Schedule Gene Mauch General Manager: Jim Fanning

1969 ROSTER     Manager   4 Gene Mauch     Coaches   33 Peanuts Lowrey   32 Cal McLish   34 Bob Oldis   31 Jerry Zimmerman     Pitchers   14 Roy Face   22 Mudcat Grant   21 Larry Jaster   22 Leo Marentette   25 Dan McGinn   44 Carl Morton   17 Dick Radatz*   16 Claude Raymond   29 Howie Reed   18 Steve Renko   42 Bob Reynolds   27 Jerry Robertson   28 Carroll Sembera   23 Don Shaw   46 Steve Shea   26 Bill Stoneman   47 Gary Waslewski   24 Mike Wegener     Catchers   2 John Bateman   12 John Boccabella   11 Ron Brand     Infielders   3 Bob Bailey   17 Donn Clendenon   8 Kevin Collins   6 Ron Fairly   37 Remy Hermoso   41 Garry Jestadt   39 Coco Laboy   14 Marv Staehle   1 Gary Sutherland   30 Maury Wills   7 Bobby Wine     Outfielders   19 Don Bosch   5 Ty Cline   35 Jim Fairey   43 Don Hahn   38 Jose Herrera   9 Mack Jones   15 Manny Mota   20 Adolfo Phillips   10 Rusty Staub   36 Floyd Wicker   * Also wore 22 for a time

Achievements

• Player of the Year: Rusty Staub
• Best Rookie: Coco Laboy
• All Star Representative: Rusty Staub
• Players of the month:
  • April - Bill Stoneman
  • May - Mack Jones
  • June - Ron Fairly
  • July - Ron Brand
  • August - Coco Laboy
  • September - Rusty Staub
• Minor League Player of the Year: Garry Jestadt (West Palm Beach A and Vancouver AAA)
• Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Balor Moore (Gulf Coast Expos Rk and West Palm Beach A)

Season Highlights

1969 was the first season in the National League for the Montreal Expos, created a few months earlier by the Expansion of 1969. In the Expansion Draft, held on October 14, 1968, they had decided to stock up on veteran players in the early rounds, complemented by a few very raw prospects chosen in the later rounds. While Manny Mota had been their first choice, veteran shortstop Maury Wills and former 20-game winner Jim "Mudcat" Grant were the most recognizable names from this original group of players. On January 22, 1969, however, they pulled a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros, obtaining young outfielder Rusty Staub in exchange for veterans Jesus Alou and Donn Clendenon. The Expos suddenly had their first genuine star player on their hands, and Staub would not disappoint them, quickly earning the adulation of Montreal's fans and the nickname "le Grand Orange". Clendenon threw a spanner in the works however when he refused to report to Houston, opting to retire instead. Realizing how important this trade was for the new franchise, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn refused to void the deal, urging instead the two teams to come to an agreement. This finally happened on the first day of the season, April 8, when the Expos convinced Clendenon to come out of retirement and play for them, and to send two young pitchers to the Astros, Jack Billingham and Skip Guinn, to complete the deal.

The Expos played their first game ever on April 8, 1969 (Boxscore), against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in front of 44,451 fans and a live television audience across Canada. Wills was the first Expo batter, first baseman Bob Bailey got the team's first base hit, a two-run double in the first inning, and lefthanded relief pitcher Dan McGinn hit their first home run, a solo shot against Tom Seaver in the 4th inning. The Expos won that first game 11 to 10, after the Mets scored four runs and put two men on in the 9th inning before Carroll Sembera struck out Rod Gaspar to end the game. Don Shaw was credited with the win.

The Expos played their first home game on April 14 (Boxscore) against the St. Louis Cardinals while construction was still ongoing at Jarry Park; this was the first Major League baseball game ever played outside the United States. The Expos won that game as well, despite giving up seven runs in the fourth inning, with a grand slam by light-hitting shortstop Dal Maxvill the highlight of that outburst. The Expos broke the 7-7 tie in the 7th inning when McGinn singled in rookie third baseman Coco Laboy with two outs to earn the win. Left fielder Mack Jones drove in five runs for the Expos in that game, making himself the instant hero of the denizens of the left field bleachers, which were thereafter known as Jonesville.

The third major highlight of that first month took place on April 17 (Boxscore) in Philadelphia when Bill Stoneman pitched a 7-0 no-hitter against the Phillies. With such incredible beginnings, it was no surprise that fans immediately adopted their new team, and that they became known to everyone as Nos z'Amours (our beloved ones), after the headline chosen by journalist Jean-Paul Sarrault in his article describing their inaugural game in New York. They would quickly hit rough times however, including an epic 20 game losing streak from May 13 to June 7 that shattered any illusion that the team would be competitive that first year.

The Expos' achilles heel in their inaugural season was their pitching, as the two veteran starting pitchers on whom the team was counting, Jim Grant and Larry Jaster, were a combined 2-12, leaving the burden on the mound to a group of rookies and youngsters who were taking their knocks while learning on the job. Rookies Mike Wegener and Jerry Robertson had records of 5-14 and 5-16 respectively, while Stoneman was at times brilliant, pitching five shutouts, but wildly inconsistent, losing 19 games with a 4.39 ERA and a league-leading 123 walks. McGinn and 41-year old Roy Face were the mainstays of a very weak bullpen, picking up 11 of the team's 21 saves between them. The only ray of light came from rookie Steve Renko, who posted a creditable 6-7 record with a decent ERA of 4.02 after coming over from the Mets in a trade for the disgruntled Clendenon.

The Expos' hitting was much more solid however, led by an outstanding season from right fielder Staub, who posted a .302 average, with 29 home runs and 110 bases on balls. First baseman Bailey had the first productive season of what had been a remarkably disappointing career until then, hitting .265 and driving in 53 runs despite losing a large chunk of the season to injury. The greatest surprise was minor-league veteran Laboy, who had a tremendous rookie season, leading the team with 79 runs batted in, to go along with 29 doubles, 18 home runs and a .258 average, numbers which he would never match again. Mack Jones also contributed on offense, as did OF-1B Ron Fairly, acquired in a mid-season trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Wills and Mota. On the down side, the double-play combination of SS Bobby Wine and 2B Gary Sutherland, while very solid with the glove, hit for a combined .223 with an anemic slugging average of .288 ! Catchers John Bateman and Ron Brand both sported slugging averages under .330 as well, so the Expos' 110 losses were not a fluke. But it did not matter, Major League Baseball had been successfully launched in Canada.

Further Reading

Marc Robitaille Un été sans point ni coup sûr, Les 400 Coups, Montréal, 2004, 143 pp. A magnificently-illustrated story about the Expos' inaugural season, and a must-own for anyone nostalgic about the Expos, whether or not they understand French.