Memoires: Montreal Expos at "The Big O"

Oh how I remember the family vacations to Montreal.  We would pack up the Eagle Vista or the Ford Aerostar, and head off on the 12 hour trip to "La Belle Province."  We would spend time in Old Quebec City, as well as catching a couple Expos games.  I have found memories of staying in hotels and motels in Montreal and surrounding areas with my three sisters and my parents.

My family knew about my love of baseball.  I grew up playing catch with my dad, Kevin in the side lot in between my uncle's place and our place.  The countless nights of working on my arm strength for the upcoming baseball season, I'd throw 100 pitches and Dad would call the balls and strikes, and also move up and down and side to side in the strike zone to work on my accuracy.  I also recall shagging flies in that same field, thinking that I was Moises Alou chasing down a ball at Olympic Stadium.  I can remember getting older and being able to hit the ball further, and I remember what an accomplishment it was to rifle a ball off of my Uncle Brian's siding.  Then once we got used to that, my cousins, my sisters, my friends and I would want to hit it clear over Brian's house.  The pick up ball games were a regular occurrence at 85 Fern Hill Drive.

But, it was these trips to Montreal where the boyish imagination finally found reality.  I was able to see the players that I pretended I was in that lot in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia.  I remember seeing Jose Vidro and Vladimir Guerrero both go deep in the same game.  I remember seeing Carlos Perez pitch, all the while having the largest possible piece of tobacco in his mouth.  I remember being too intimidated to go up to David Segui and ask for his autograph, so my wonderful mother did it for me.  The "Big O" was a very exciting place for a young Expos fan!  

My favourite players included the following: Moises Alou, Mike Lansing, David Segui, Jose Vidro, Mark Grudzielanek, F.P. Santangelo, Rondell White, and my two all-time favourites, Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero.  Moises Alou was my very first favourite player.  From his unique grip on the bat (with his pinky finger placed on the very bottom of the handle) to his ability to hit for average and power, he was exciting to watch!  Mike Lansing was a multi tooled second baseball, whose play in the field was phenomenal!  I remember David Segui as a solid first baseball who could make great contact when he got a hold of a pitch.  Jose Vidro was Lansing's successor at second, and what a successor he was!  Vidro's glove was fantastic, but he was also a major threat at the plate (hitting .330 with 200 hits in 2000).  Vidro was also an All-Star in both the '02 and '03 seasons.  

Mark "The G Man" Grudzielanek was another memorable player, having 201 hits in the '01 season, eclipsing the .300 mark, which he would accomplish 4 more times in his career.  F.P Santangelo's all out fearless play (some might call reckless) was always fun to watch.  To see a guy care so much that he would run through a wall to get to ball was truly worth the price of admission.  Some older Expos fans would probably think of Larry Walker as one who played with this sort of reckless abandon.  I barely remember the '94 season when the Expos' first place season was cut short by a lockout.  Center fielder Rondell White was a very decent fielder as well as a good threat at the plate.  Which brings to Pedro and Vlady.

Pedro inspired me to pitch with a real edge.  I was amazed at how a 5' 11'', 170 pound guy could throw his fastball consistently at 97 and 98 mph!  Martinez had an ERA under 3.00 nine times in his career, and under 2.00 twice!  He was never afraid to brush anyone back from the plate.  It did not matter who you were, whether you were a superstar or not, if Pedro Martinez wanted you off the plate, or just wanted to send a message,  then he would do it.  He had all the good stuff as well, with his cutter, curveball, and circle change to compliment that heater.  Martinez was unlike any other in his style and in his command of his pitchers.  It was Pedro's style that I wanted my game to mirror.  The ability to go far inside on a batter and then going back with a fastball on the outside corner (or a curve) was a valuable weapon, that no one used better than Pedro Martinez.

Vladimir Guerrero was and still is my all-time favourite ball player.  Vlady is in the twilight of his career now, but still has something left in the tank.  While with the Expos, he possessed two amazing talents, his arm and his bat.  The canon of an arm that Guerrero unleashed was unbelievable!  Even the most able base runners would always think twice about advancing from 1st to 3rd on a ball hit to right field, because they knew who would be coming up with the ball and who would be able to hit the third basemen's glove on a frozen rope!  Vlady's arm was second to none in the league, and when he used it, I can remember the "ooohhhs" that would be uttered by the fans at the Big O.  Then on to Guerrero's bat.  What a truly remarkable talent at the plate.  Guerrero could hit anything.  Pitchers would not know what to do with him.  If you threw a waste pitch outside of the zone to set up another pitch Guerrero would still hit it for extra bases.  He would use his strength and bat speed to muscle even the lowest pitch out into the outfield.  I still have not even mentioned his power when he would get a hold of a pitch.  He could go yard on a pitch outside the zone, but especially when a pitch was in his wheel house he would destroy it.  Guerrero was still a major threat for the Angels, and most recently the Orioles this past season.  Guerrero's career batting average is .318, to go along with 2590 hits, 449 home runs, and 1496 RBI's!  Along with Martinez, Guerrero is a sure Hall of Famer, both leaving lasting impressions on this amazing game.

Having the chance to see these guys play at "The Big O" is something that I won't soon forget.  The time spent with family was really great also.  I can remember Dad giving me his radio so that I could listen to the broadcast as I watched it unfold in front of me.  The Montreal Expos were my team, and it was a sad day when they finally left Montreal.