Next on the countdown of League Championship Series Game 7s (or Game 5s) is the 1981 NLCS between Los Angeles and Montreal. I wrote about this game at length earlier, so I didn't feel the need to do it again. Go here to read this description.
(As an aside, the deciding runs in this and all the rest of the games on this particular countdown were scored in the ninth inning or later. It's surprising how many LCS's have been decided by classic games.)
What I'm doing.
The list so far:
8. 1981 NLCS: Los Angeles 2, Montreal 1
9. 1982 ALCS: Milwaukee 4, California 3
10. 2008 ALCS: Tampa Bay 3, Boston 1
11. 1984 NLCS: San Diego 6, Chicago 3
12. 2003 NLCS: Florida 9, Chicago 6
13. 2004 NLCS: St. Louis 5, Houston 2
14. 1972 ALCS: Oakland 2, Detroit 1
15. 1973 ALCS: Oakland 3, Baltimore 0
16. 1985 ALCS: Kansas City 6, Toronto 2
17. 2007 ALCS: Boston 11, Cleveland 2
18. 1991 NLCS: Atlanta 4, Pittsburgh 0
19. 1973 NLCS: New York 7, Cincinnati 2
20. 1987 NLCS: St. Louis 6, San Francisco 0
21. 1988 NLCS: Los Angeles 6, New York 0
22. 2004 ALCS: Boston 10, New York 3
23. 1986 ALCS: Boston 8, California 1
24: 1996 NLCS: Atlanta 15, St. Louis 0
Still to come:
1972 NLCS: Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh
1976 ALCS: Kansas City vs. New York
1977 ALCS: Kansas City vs. New York
1980 NLCS: Houston vs. Philadelphia
1992 NLCS: Atlanta vs. Pittsburgh
2003 ALCS: Boston vs. New York
2006 NLCS: New York vs. St. Louis
Showing posts with label Montreal Expos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montreal Expos. Show all posts
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
1981 NLDS: Hey ... I'm from Rogers!
Pregame
This should have been the St. Louis Cardinals' season. The Cardinals had the best record in the NL East in 1981 by a comfortable margin, but 1981's split schedule cost St. Louis a trip to the playoffs. The Cardinals were 2.5 games behind the defending champion Phillies when the strike hit, and they finished an agonizing half-game behind Montreal in the second half of the season, losing out on the pennant simply because they played one less game than the Expos.
Fair or not, it was the Phillies against the Expos in the NL East Division series. The Phillies were still riding high after winning the first World Series in franchise history the year before, while the 1981 season marked Montreal's first postseason appearance in franchise history.
The Expos won the first two games of the series at home by identical 3-1 scores. The series then moved to Philadelphia, where the Phillies won the next two games as the Expos committed a total of five errors in the two games. Game 5 would feature the same pitching matchup as Game 1, with Expos ace Steve Rogers going up against three-time Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.
The Game
1981 was not a kind season to hitters, and with two aces on the mound for this Game 5, there shouldn't have been too much surprise that a pitcher's duel broke out. The two Steves held the offenses in check for the first four innings, with nobody getting past second base. The Phillies got the best opportunity to score early, but Gary Matthews was thrown out at home trying to score on a single to end the bottom of the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, Rogers had a chance to win the game by himself. With two on and two out, Carlton walked Jerry Manuel to load the bases and bring up his opposing pitcher. Never a good hitting pitcher, Rogers had only driven in three runs all season long. But with the Expos facing their first real scoring opportunity, Rogers came through, driving a single to center to drive in two runs and give himself a 2-0 lead.
That was all the offense he needed. The Expos added a run in the sixth, but it wasn't really needed. Philadelphia didn't threaten much the rest of the way, with their only scoring opportunity snuffed out by a sixth-inning double play. Rogers finished the complete-game shutout, and the Expos moved on to the NLCS.
Postgame
Montreal earned the right to play Los Angeles in the NLCS, fighting the Dodgers to the fifth game. Rogers won Game 3 of the series, then came in to relieve in the ninth inning of Game 5. Rogers gave up a home run to Rick Monday, a shot which gave the Dodgers the series win. Though heartbreaking at the time, the disappointment was tempered a bit by the belief that the Expos would be back. But they never were. The 10 games they played in 1981 were the only postseason games in Montreal history.
The Rundown
23. Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0 (1981 NL East Division Series)
24. N.Y. Yankees 7, Milwaukee 3 (1981 AL East Division Series)
25. Seattle 9, California 1 (1995 AL West tiebreaker)
26. Chicago 5, Atlanta 1 (2003 NLDS)
27. Houston 12, Atlanta 3 (2004 NLDS)
28. N.Y. Mets 5, Cincinnati 0 (1999 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
29. Cleveland 8, Boston 3 (1948 AL tiebreaker)
30. Houston 7, Los Angeles 1 (1980 NL West tiebreaker)
This should have been the St. Louis Cardinals' season. The Cardinals had the best record in the NL East in 1981 by a comfortable margin, but 1981's split schedule cost St. Louis a trip to the playoffs. The Cardinals were 2.5 games behind the defending champion Phillies when the strike hit, and they finished an agonizing half-game behind Montreal in the second half of the season, losing out on the pennant simply because they played one less game than the Expos.
Fair or not, it was the Phillies against the Expos in the NL East Division series. The Phillies were still riding high after winning the first World Series in franchise history the year before, while the 1981 season marked Montreal's first postseason appearance in franchise history.
The Expos won the first two games of the series at home by identical 3-1 scores. The series then moved to Philadelphia, where the Phillies won the next two games as the Expos committed a total of five errors in the two games. Game 5 would feature the same pitching matchup as Game 1, with Expos ace Steve Rogers going up against three-time Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.
The Game
1981 was not a kind season to hitters, and with two aces on the mound for this Game 5, there shouldn't have been too much surprise that a pitcher's duel broke out. The two Steves held the offenses in check for the first four innings, with nobody getting past second base. The Phillies got the best opportunity to score early, but Gary Matthews was thrown out at home trying to score on a single to end the bottom of the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, Rogers had a chance to win the game by himself. With two on and two out, Carlton walked Jerry Manuel to load the bases and bring up his opposing pitcher. Never a good hitting pitcher, Rogers had only driven in three runs all season long. But with the Expos facing their first real scoring opportunity, Rogers came through, driving a single to center to drive in two runs and give himself a 2-0 lead.
That was all the offense he needed. The Expos added a run in the sixth, but it wasn't really needed. Philadelphia didn't threaten much the rest of the way, with their only scoring opportunity snuffed out by a sixth-inning double play. Rogers finished the complete-game shutout, and the Expos moved on to the NLCS.
Postgame
Montreal earned the right to play Los Angeles in the NLCS, fighting the Dodgers to the fifth game. Rogers won Game 3 of the series, then came in to relieve in the ninth inning of Game 5. Rogers gave up a home run to Rick Monday, a shot which gave the Dodgers the series win. Though heartbreaking at the time, the disappointment was tempered a bit by the belief that the Expos would be back. But they never were. The 10 games they played in 1981 were the only postseason games in Montreal history.
The Rundown
23. Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0 (1981 NL East Division Series)
24. N.Y. Yankees 7, Milwaukee 3 (1981 AL East Division Series)
25. Seattle 9, California 1 (1995 AL West tiebreaker)
26. Chicago 5, Atlanta 1 (2003 NLDS)
27. Houston 12, Atlanta 3 (2004 NLDS)
28. N.Y. Mets 5, Cincinnati 0 (1999 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
29. Cleveland 8, Boston 3 (1948 AL tiebreaker)
30. Houston 7, Los Angeles 1 (1980 NL West tiebreaker)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
October 19, 1981: Blue Monday
MONTREAL - The Montreal Expos are long gone, but there's still a scar in Olympic Stadium from the 1981 playoffs. The ninth inning of the fifth game of the NLCS that year still haunts Montreal baseball fans, even though the Expos have been playing in Washington, D.C., since 2005. Maybe if things had gone differently, they'd still be in Montreal. Unlikely, but maybe.
It was a cold and dreary Monday afternoon when the Dodgers and Expos met for the deciding game. Originally scheduled for the day before, game 5 had been postponed by rain, allowing the Dodgers to give their ace, Fernando Valenzuela, an extra day of rest. The Expos countered with Ray Burris, who had beaten Valenzuela in game 2. The game was still seen as advantage Dodgers, though; they had the pedigree, having gone to the World Series three times in the previous seven years, and they had their ace, the incomparable Valenzuela who had taken the baseball world by storm in 1981 with a 13-7 record and a shocking eight shutouts.
The Expos had the homefield advantage, though, and they thought they might have had karma on their side when the Dodgers couldn't take advantage of a one-out triple in the first. Montreal responded by pushing across a run in the bottom of the first, using a double, a sacrifice, and a double play ball to get on the board.
And that was it, at least for a while. Valenzuela shut things down from there, giving up only two more hits the rest of the way. But Burris, who had thrown a shutout in his game 2 victory, wasn't giving anything up, either, and the Expos' 1-0 lead was looking larger and larger as the game went along.
The Dodgers finally tied things up in the fifth, as Valenzuela himself drove in a run on a groundout to tie things up. Tie game, both pitchers cruising - it looked like it might come down to which pitcher got tired first.
It wasn't fatigue that knocked Burris out of the game. It was National League rules requiring that pitchers bat. Hoping to get a spark, the Expos replaced Burris with a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth, leading to nothing. On to the ninth. In to pitch for the Expos wasn't one of their great relievers, but starter Steve Rodgers. To be fair, Rodgers had been the Expos' top pitcher for most of their existence, and not knowing how long Valenzuela was going to pitch, they wanted someone in there for the long haul if needed. However, Rodgers had thrown a complete game in game 3, so he was pitching on less rest than normal. Plus, he had only made three relief appearances in his eight-year career before that game, so he was entering uncharted waters here.
The first two batters Rodgers faced went down without too much trouble. The third was Rick Monday, who had scored the Dodgers run. Monday drew a 3-1 count, meaning he could look for a strike. He got it. It landed in the seats.
The Expos still had the bottom of the ninth, but they still had Valenzuela to deal with. He got the first two outs with no problems. One out away from a complete-game two-hitter, Valenzuela finally tired, walking the next two hitters. With the winning run on base, the Dodgers didn't take any chances, replacing him with Bob Welch, who was also a starter but at least had significant relief experience. Welch got the last out. The Dodgers went to the World Series. The Expos never played in the postseason again.
The game came to be known in Montreal as Blue Monday, signifying not only the day the game was played but also the man who had hit the devastating home run. While the Dodgers celebrated a World Championship that fall, the Expos were left lamenting what might have been. The 80s were filled with star-studded Montreal teams that kept finishing in second or third place, just missing the one or two players that would push them over the edge. They finally had those players in 1994, the year the postseason was cancelled when the Expos had the best record in baseball.
And that was it. The lost revenue caused by the strike caused the Expos to sell off their stars, and they never contended again. Eleven years after they were the best team in baseball, 24 years after Blue Monday, the Expos had become the Washington Nationals. Their team was gone, but Montreal fans never got rid of the pain of that rainy Monday afternoon. The scar will always remain.
It was a cold and dreary Monday afternoon when the Dodgers and Expos met for the deciding game. Originally scheduled for the day before, game 5 had been postponed by rain, allowing the Dodgers to give their ace, Fernando Valenzuela, an extra day of rest. The Expos countered with Ray Burris, who had beaten Valenzuela in game 2. The game was still seen as advantage Dodgers, though; they had the pedigree, having gone to the World Series three times in the previous seven years, and they had their ace, the incomparable Valenzuela who had taken the baseball world by storm in 1981 with a 13-7 record and a shocking eight shutouts.
The Expos had the homefield advantage, though, and they thought they might have had karma on their side when the Dodgers couldn't take advantage of a one-out triple in the first. Montreal responded by pushing across a run in the bottom of the first, using a double, a sacrifice, and a double play ball to get on the board.
And that was it, at least for a while. Valenzuela shut things down from there, giving up only two more hits the rest of the way. But Burris, who had thrown a shutout in his game 2 victory, wasn't giving anything up, either, and the Expos' 1-0 lead was looking larger and larger as the game went along.
The Dodgers finally tied things up in the fifth, as Valenzuela himself drove in a run on a groundout to tie things up. Tie game, both pitchers cruising - it looked like it might come down to which pitcher got tired first.
It wasn't fatigue that knocked Burris out of the game. It was National League rules requiring that pitchers bat. Hoping to get a spark, the Expos replaced Burris with a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth, leading to nothing. On to the ninth. In to pitch for the Expos wasn't one of their great relievers, but starter Steve Rodgers. To be fair, Rodgers had been the Expos' top pitcher for most of their existence, and not knowing how long Valenzuela was going to pitch, they wanted someone in there for the long haul if needed. However, Rodgers had thrown a complete game in game 3, so he was pitching on less rest than normal. Plus, he had only made three relief appearances in his eight-year career before that game, so he was entering uncharted waters here.
The first two batters Rodgers faced went down without too much trouble. The third was Rick Monday, who had scored the Dodgers run. Monday drew a 3-1 count, meaning he could look for a strike. He got it. It landed in the seats.
The Expos still had the bottom of the ninth, but they still had Valenzuela to deal with. He got the first two outs with no problems. One out away from a complete-game two-hitter, Valenzuela finally tired, walking the next two hitters. With the winning run on base, the Dodgers didn't take any chances, replacing him with Bob Welch, who was also a starter but at least had significant relief experience. Welch got the last out. The Dodgers went to the World Series. The Expos never played in the postseason again.
The game came to be known in Montreal as Blue Monday, signifying not only the day the game was played but also the man who had hit the devastating home run. While the Dodgers celebrated a World Championship that fall, the Expos were left lamenting what might have been. The 80s were filled with star-studded Montreal teams that kept finishing in second or third place, just missing the one or two players that would push them over the edge. They finally had those players in 1994, the year the postseason was cancelled when the Expos had the best record in baseball.
And that was it. The lost revenue caused by the strike caused the Expos to sell off their stars, and they never contended again. Eleven years after they were the best team in baseball, 24 years after Blue Monday, the Expos had become the Washington Nationals. Their team was gone, but Montreal fans never got rid of the pain of that rainy Monday afternoon. The scar will always remain.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
April 14, 1969: Emmène-moi au jeu de balle.
MONTREAL - Major League Baseball was slow to become a truly national game. For more than 50 years, there were no teams farther west than St. Louis or farther south than Washington, D.C. Even the earliest franchise shifts - the Browns from St. Louis to Baltimore, the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee, the Athletics from Philadelphia to Kansas City - did little to change the geography of the sport.
That changed when the Dodgers and Giants moved from New York in California. Now baseball was a truly national game, stretching from coast to coast, and the two National League teams became the trendsetters for expansion teams and team relocations. Within 10 years, there were three more teams in California, one in Texas, and one in Atlanta.
Then, in 1969, a new frontier was crossed, as the Montreal Expos began play as an expansion team. For the first time, a professional sports league based in the United States featured a team from Canada.
On April 14, the Expos hosted the first Major League game in Canada, playing in the makeshift Jarry Park Stadium in front of a capacity crowd of only 29,000. The Expos beat the Cardinals 8-7 in a game that was broadcast nationally in Canada.
Jarry Park was meant to be only a temporary home for the Expos while they built a more major-league suitable domed stadium, so there were plenty of problems: the fans were completely exposed to the elements, which isn't a great idea in Montreal in April; the field was set up so the first baseman was often looking directly into the sun, which caused numerous stoppages in play; and of course, the capacity of 29,000 wasn't exactly what the National League wanted. But Jarry Park ended up being the Expos' home until Olympic Stadium was ready for the 1977 season.
The many delays in opening Olympic Stadium led to threats that Montreal would lose its franchise, a threat that hung over the team nearly its entire existence. They almost lost their team before getting a chance to play because of stadium issues, and even after Olympic Stadium was finished, poor crowds led to constant threats of the team moving. They finally did after the 2004 season, becoming the Washington Nationals, and leaving Toronto as the only Canadian representative in Major League Baseball.
That changed when the Dodgers and Giants moved from New York in California. Now baseball was a truly national game, stretching from coast to coast, and the two National League teams became the trendsetters for expansion teams and team relocations. Within 10 years, there were three more teams in California, one in Texas, and one in Atlanta.
Then, in 1969, a new frontier was crossed, as the Montreal Expos began play as an expansion team. For the first time, a professional sports league based in the United States featured a team from Canada.
On April 14, the Expos hosted the first Major League game in Canada, playing in the makeshift Jarry Park Stadium in front of a capacity crowd of only 29,000. The Expos beat the Cardinals 8-7 in a game that was broadcast nationally in Canada.
Jarry Park was meant to be only a temporary home for the Expos while they built a more major-league suitable domed stadium, so there were plenty of problems: the fans were completely exposed to the elements, which isn't a great idea in Montreal in April; the field was set up so the first baseman was often looking directly into the sun, which caused numerous stoppages in play; and of course, the capacity of 29,000 wasn't exactly what the National League wanted. But Jarry Park ended up being the Expos' home until Olympic Stadium was ready for the 1977 season.
The many delays in opening Olympic Stadium led to threats that Montreal would lose its franchise, a threat that hung over the team nearly its entire existence. They almost lost their team before getting a chance to play because of stadium issues, and even after Olympic Stadium was finished, poor crowds led to constant threats of the team moving. They finally did after the 2004 season, becoming the Washington Nationals, and leaving Toronto as the only Canadian representative in Major League Baseball.
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