Who Killed the Montreal Expos?

 "Who Killed the Monteal Expos?" has hit a nerve.  Although basketball has been my favorite sport since high school I was definitely a baseball fan.  During the players' strike 1994 the decision was made to sell the Expos to American interests.  At the time they were leading the majors.  The good players were traded or sold with little value in return.  In 2004 the team was sold to interests in Washington, D.C.

I felt betrayed.  I switched my interests to other sports and now basketball, my favorite was getting more accessible on tv and even in person. 

Montreal had a baseball history.  Jackie Robinson played there on a farm club as well as other blacks.  It was not the smallest market and did much of the time have good attendance.

The bottom line was money.  The documentary names names, but the truth is if more (a lot more) money had been available Montreal would likely still have the Expos.  By the 1980's player salaries had started to escalate and to make it worse that money was in American currency while revenues were in Canadian dollars which were declining in value.  Quebec politics drove out many anglophones who had been a significant portion of the fans.  There were no billionaires in Quebec and attempts to consolidate lesser fortunes started to fail.  

Near the end circumstances had conspired to make broadcast revenues shrink.  In one year TSN offered the Expos $5,000 per game while offering the Toronto Blue Jays $200,000 per game.  French broadcast rights were also difficult, yet vital for future success.

In 1994 the strike led to the season not being completed.  The players had long felt they were not getting their fair share of the money brought in by the fans.  The owners felt that the rising salaries were hurting the poorer teams (like Montreal) affecting the competitiveness needed to draw crowds.  Revenue sharing was seen as one solution, but was resisted by some owners.  Of course they all wanted to keep salaries under control.  As we know they kept growing, helping to freeze out prospective  Quebec and Canadian owners.

In addition to interviews in French and English with business people there were many conversations with former players, a few in French, notably Felipe Alou and the senior Vladimir Guerrero.  Alou who went on to being a successful and popular manager put his children into French schools.  One fan recalled that when she gave birth she had insisted a tv. would be put in the room so she could watch an Expos game.  

In my research I was reminded of some players.  Rusty Staub was an early star and with his reddish hair was nicknamed "Le Grand Orange."  He endeared himself to fans by learning French.  The Expos had 9 former players get elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Olympic Stadium had become a liability.  Parts of the building had collapsed and players were reluctant to play there for the poor playing conditions.  A new stadium was identified as a necessity, but gathering funds was very difficult.  Most American teams were able to get money from government, but Premier Lucian Bouchard was quoted as saying Quebec was closing hospitals and could therefore not open stadiums.

Jeffrey Loria and has stepson, David Samson are pointed as the main villains by some.  They had good intentions at the beginning in 1999, but felt frustrated with all the mostly money squabbles.  When Jeffrey sold the Expos that became the Washington Nationals he used the money to invest in the Miami Marlins taking all the Expo resources he could, including one computer an interviewee pointed out.

Here in Blue Jays territory Vladimir Guerrro, Jr. is a big star and it is nice to realize his father was a big star for the Expos.

Jean-Francois Poisson was the director of the film,  His experience has been mostly with documentaries in the Quebec market.  He has 14 directing credits, 11 for writing and 3 as editor.  Check out "Who Killed the Montreal Expos" on Netflix--subtitled for the French, but it is mostly in English.

I better understand the situation, but it also reinforces my feeling that money is the power that (mostly) guides our lives.  Just enjoy what you can with what access you have. 

There is interest in getting baseball back to Montreal.  Surprisingly considering many critical details it was stated in the credits that film was done "with the participation of Major League Baseball.  There undoubtedly will be a lot of competition.  

I already loved basketball, but the failure of the Montreal Expos played a part in my sports priorities.  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/06/my-60-year-love-affair-with-basketball.html