Montreal Expos
April 15th, 1977 - Ellis Valentine of the Montreal Expos hits the 1st Home Run in the new Olympic Stadium. Ellis batted in the only two runs in a 7-2 Expos loss that day. The third inning solo shot off the Phillies Steve Carlton & an eighth inning two out rbi single. He teamed up with CF Andre Dawson & LF Warren Cromartie to form one of the coolest OF Trio’s of All Time.
Since 1961 there have only been 12 occurrences of a ‘Battery’ (Catcher & Pitcher) hitting back-to-back home runs. Montreal Expos Catcher Sal Buerta & Pitcher Bryn Smith hit back to back shots off Cubs reliever Ray Fontenot back on August 14th, 1985. It wouldn’t happen again until a couple of Cardinals did it in 1994.
I’ve got a FREE Issue of Blaze for the first person who messages over the Cardinals Battery who went back to back.
Did you know that the First Home Run in Montreal Expos history was hit by a Pitcher?
Can you name him? Hint: He didn’t start the game.
For a Bonus Point. What Hall of Fame Pitcher did he hit it off of?
Felipe Alou managed the Single A West Palm Beach Expos from 1986-1991. On May 22nd, 1992 he was promoted from bench coach to Manager of the Montreal Club becoming the 1st Dominican Manager in MLB History. The 1990 West Palm Expos, led by Alou, are ranked #89 on the top 100 Minor League Teams of All time. They went 92-40 and lost in the Florida State League Finals. Happy Birthday Felipe!
Did you know that Jim ‘Mudcat’ Grant threw the 1st pitch in Montreal Expos History? R.I.P Mudcat
Did you know Gary Carter hit a home run on four straight Opening Days? ‘The Kid’ did this between 1977-1980 when he was a member of the Montreal Expos.
Happy Birthday Ivan Calderon! ‘Ivan The Terrible’ had his lone All-Star appearance in 1991 as a member of the Expos. Here he is climbing the fence in Tiger stadium to rob Allan Trammel of a home run. Calderon was shot and murdered in his native Puerto Rico in 2003. RIP
Scoop! Al Oliver was the first player in MLB History to wear the # 0. Al switched from # 16 when he was traded from the Pirates to the Rangers in 1977 because he saw it as starting a fresh start, starting at 0. Have a good Sunday dudes!
It was back on September 15th, 1988 when Randy Johnson made his Major League debut for the Montreal Expos. The ‘Big Unit’ earned his first win in a 9-4 Expos victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. There was one Bucco though who got the best of Johnson. Right Fielder Glenn Wilson took Johnson deep not once but twice with solo homeruns.
Happy Birthday to our man Ross Grimsley. The only 20 game winner in Montreal Expos History.
Mark Langston was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Montreal Expos part way through the 1989 season. Can you dudes name the Hall of Fame pitcher the Mariners got in return??
A bit of Thursday Trivia for you guys to impress your buds. ** Joel was also the last player to wear # 18 for the New Yorks Mets before a dude named Darryl came to town in 1982.
