The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announces its 2017 inductees. Leading the way are P Roy Halladay and OF Vladimir Guerrero, who erspectively starred for the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos, as well as former Baseball Canada President Ray Carter, amateur umpire Doug Hudlin, and the edition of Team Canada which won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Major league baseball is back in Montreal, QC for the first time since 2004 as the Blue Jays play the first of two exhibition games against the Mets. More than 46,000 fans, most sporting the colors of the defunct Montreal Expos, pack Stade Olympique to pay tribute to Hall of Famer Gary Carter and to their beloved former team. The Jays win, 5 – 4, on minor league veteran Ricardo Nanita’s run-scoring single with two outs in the 9th. Tomorrow, over 50,000 fans will be at the game in what will become an annual tradition to close out the Jays’ schedule of pre-season exhibition games.
The Montreal Canadiens pay tribute to the departed Expos team by raising a commemorative banner to the rafters of Montreal’s Bell Centre. Displaced mascot Youppi, working in his first game for the NHL team, and former players Gary Carter and Andre Dawson are on hand to assist in the hoisting of the blue and orange banner that features their retired numbers, 8 and 10, respectively, as well as the numbers for Tim Raines (30) and Rusty Staub (10).
2005 – The Washington Nationals franchise, formerly the Montreal Expos, lose their inaugural season opener bowing to the Philadelphia Phillies, 8 – 4. The franchise, which played its initial 36 years in Canada, becomes the first team to represent the nation’s capital since the Washington Senators left to become the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season.
On October 3, 2004 – The final game in Montreal Expos team history is played away from home, against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. New York defeats Montreal, 8 – 1. Jamey Carroll scores the final Expos run and Endy Chavez becomes the final Expos batter when he grounds out in the top…
The long-anticipated trade of Nomar Garciaparra is finally accomplished as the Red Sox shortstop is traded to the Cubs in a four-team deal which includes the Twins and Expos. Chicago first acquires shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Expos for shortstop Alex Gonzalez, relief pitcher Francis Beltran and minor leaguer Brendan Harris. They then pry 1B Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins for minor league southpaw Justin Jones. Finally, Chicago flips its two new acquisitions to the Bosox for Garciaparra, prospect Matt Murton and cash.
Despite his ban from the Hall of Fame, Pete Rose is nominated for induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose banged out his 4,000th career hit, a double off pitcher Jerry Koosman, as a member of the 1984 Montreal Expos squad. Rose was named by the chairman of the newly-formed Canadian Baseball League, Tony Riviera.
The Hall of Fame announces that Gary Carter will become the first player to wear a Montreal Expos cap on his plaque when he is inducted next July at Cooperstown. Although the former Montreal catcher had expressed his desire to go in with a Mets logo, for whom he won a Championship in 1986, the Hall of Fame makes the final decision.
At Milwaukee’s Miller Park, Mark Bellhorn becomes the first National Leaguer and joins Carlos Baerga as the only other switch-hitter to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning. The Cub infielder connects off southpaw Andrew Lorraine to start Chicago’s 10-run 4th-inning and then goes deep again with a three-run homer with two outs off Jose Cabrera.
The Expos’ first selection, fifth overall, in the amateur draft, Clint Everts, signs a deal with Montreal which gives him a $2.5 million signing bonus. The Houston Cypress Falls High School’s right-hander, along with teammate left-hander Scott Kazmir (Mets), are only the fourth pair of high school players selected in the first round of the same draft.