MLB Network Airs Documentary on The 1994 Montreal Expos

As much as I’m a Red Sox fan, the first MLB team I became aware of as a young kid was the Montreal Expos. My dad got a job in Canada and the Expos were on the radio. I didn’t become a fan of baseball until I moved to New England, but my awareness of the sport started with the Expos. And for a long time, it was a beloved franchise in Montreal. Things turned downhill after 1994. What happened in 1994? The Expos were in first place in the National League East with the league’s best record when the season was interrupted and never finished due to a player’s strike. After that, attendance went down and the franchise eventually moved to Washington.

I felt a part of my childhood died when the Expos became the Nationals. Very sad. But MLB Network brings the Expos back for one hour on Sunday and I’m glad to see this because I’ve felt MLB has tried to bury its past in Montreal. Here’s the press release.

1994 MONTREAL EXPOS FEATURED IN MLB PRODUCTIONS’ TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY ON MLB NETWORK, SUNDAY, AUGUST 15

Hour-Long Program Looks Back on the Franchise’s Peak in 1994 & Eventual Relocation in 2004

Secaucus, N.J., August 12, 2010 – The 1994 Montreal Expos are the featured subject in the latest edition of Major League Baseball Productions’ Triumph and Tragedy, airing on MLB Network this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. ET.  With a roster including Moises Alou, Marquis Grissom, Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker and John Wetteland, the 1994 Montreal Expos were poised for a Postseason appearance before the season was cut short by the players’ strike in August. Triumph and Tragedy covers the ups and downs of that year and the next decade, including a season cut short, key players traded and the eventual relocation of the franchise to Washington, D.C. in 2004.

Narrated by MLB Network host Matt Vasgersian, the episode includes stories and new and archival interviews – some being seen and told for the first time on television – with manager Felipe Alou; the players listed above; former Expos players Gary Carter, Greg Harris, Ken Macha, Steve Rogers, Rusty Staub and others; former club executives, coaches, broadcasters and reporters who covered the team.

Highlights of the episode include:

• “It was a personal tragedy for these players who missed their chance to shine. It was a tragedy for the baseball fans in Montreal because this was the best team that they ever had.” — Dan Duquette (Expos GM, 1991-94)

• “The Montreal Expos were really kicking butt that year, Felipe Alou was about to have some tremendous success up there because they had a great, great team.” — Dusty Baker (Giants Manager 1993-2002)
   
• “Even though we didn’t win a World Series, and we never even won a play-off game, however in ’94 I still maintain we would have won the World Series.” — John Wetteland (Expos closer in 1994)

That’s it.