Did you have the chance to watch the documentary on the death of the Expos, on Netflix?
“Who killed the Montreal Expos? » is a documentary that hits hard, even for someone who was only eight years old when the franchise left for Washington. I can't imagine what this means for those who lived through the club's good years.
I'm not here to spoil the documentary, but you will understand that money is a predominant theme for 90 minutes. This is also, obviously, part of the answer to the question in the title.
The refusal to invest on the part of shareholders to keep players… the government's refusal to finance a stadium, like in the United States… these are elements that sunk the Expos.
I am surely not the only one to have watched the documentary yesterday, just before getting back on my cell and reading the latest news from the world of sport affecting Quebec.
Among these? The Blue Jays and the Dodgers who are preparing for the World Series… as well as the Colorado Avalanche and the Hurricanes who will recreate a Nordiques – Whalers game. #Nostalgia
The Blue Jays and the Expos are the two franchises that successfully brought major baseball to Canada. Both had more difficult years, both had success, notably in the early 1990s… but the two took a different trajectory thereafter.
While financial issues sank the Montreal club, the Blue Jays never had these problems. They stayed afloat and managed to become a big money printing machine.
If the two cities have approximately the same hockey resources, we suspect that the Expos of the 2020s would not have offered $700 million to Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto.
And we also suspect that a confrontation of the Expos against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs would have given essentially the same result as the series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
But the Blue Jays are elsewhere. The club, which will try to bring the World Series back to the country for the first time since 1993, has the means to achieve its ambitions. Its stadiums (Dunedin and Toronto) have recently been renovated and several players are paid handsomely in town.
The Blue Jays managed to retain their Vlad.
It also reminds us that to go see ball, all you need to do is buy a ticket for the match. You must also plan your travel and hotel to Toronto or to an American city.
THE timing of the documentary (the day after the Blue Jays qualified) gives the right to a mix of emotions in Montreal, I think. And this, even if it is good to see that the World Series could not be won by an American club for the first time in thirty years.
