1969 Montreal Expos season

March 2026 November 2013 Montreal Expos 1969 National League East Jarry Park Montreal Charles Bronfman Jim Fanning Gene Mauch CBC Television(Hal Kelly, Jim Hearn)Télévision de Radio-Canada(Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron) CKGM (English)(Dave Van Horne, Russ Taylor)CKLM (French)(Jean-Paul Sarault, Jean-Pierre Roy) 52–110 (.321) 6th The 1969 Montreal Expos season was the inaugural season in Major League Baseball for the team. The Expos, as typical for first-year expansion teams, finished in the cellar of the National League East with a 52–110 record, 48 games behind the eventual World Series Champion New York Mets. They did not win any game in extra innings during the year, which also featured a surprise no-hitter in just the ninth regular-season game they ever played. Their home attendance of 1,212,608, an average of 14,970 per game, was good for 7th in the N.L. The franchise would play in Montreal for 36 seasons until 2004 when the team relocated to Washington, D.C. and was rebranded as the Washington Nationals in 2005. Offseason Expansion draft 1968 MLB expansion draft The Montreal Expos participated in the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft on October 14, 1968. Player Former team Pick NotesManny MotaPittsburgh Pirates2nd pickManny Mota at Baseball ReferenceMack JonesCincinnati Reds4th pickJohn BatemanHouston Astros6th pickGary SutherlandPhiladelphia Phillies8th pickJack Billingham Los Angeles Dodgers10th pickNever played for the Expos. Sent to Houston just as the season was starting as part of a deal for Rusty Staub.Donn ClendenonPittsburgh Pirates11th pickJesús AlouSan Francisco Giants13th pickJesús Alou at Baseball ReferenceNever played for the Expos. Sent to Houston as part of a deal for Rusty Staub.Mike WegenerPhiladelphia Phillies15th pickSkip GuinnAtlanta Braves17th pickSkip Guinn at Baseball ReferenceNever played for the Expos. Sent to Houston just as the season was starting as part of a deal for Rusty Staub.Bill StonemanChicago Cubs19th pickMaury WillsPittsburgh Pirates21st pickMaury Wills at Baseball ReferenceBobby WinePhiladelphia Phillies23rd pickBobby Wine at Baseball ReferenceBob ReynoldsSan Francisco Giants25th pickDan McGinnCincinnati Reds27th pickJosé HerreraHouston Astros29th pickJimy WilliamsCincinnati Reds32nd pickJimy Williams at Baseball Reference Never played for the Expos. Only major league experience was in 1966 and '67.Remy HermosoAtlanta Braves34th pickMudcat GrantLos Angeles Dodgers36th pickMudcat Grant at Baseball ReferenceJerry RobertsonSt. Louis Cardinals38th pickDon ShawNew York Mets40th pickDon Shaw at Baseball ReferenceTy ClineSan Francisco Giants41st pickGarry JestadtChicago Cubs43rd pickCarl MortonAtlanta Braves45th pickCarl Morton at Baseball ReferenceLarry JasterSt. Louis Cardinals47th pickErnie McAnallyNew York Mets49th pickDidn't make it to the big league squad until 1971.Jim FaireyLos Angeles Dodgers52nd pickCoco LaboySt. Louis Cardinals54th pickCoco Laboy at Baseball ReferenceJohn BoccabellaChicago Cubs56th pickRon BrandHouston Astros58th pickJohn GlassNew York Mets60th pickNever played in the major leagues Other transactions October 16, 1968: Don Bosch was purchased by the Expos from the New York Mets.Don Bosch at Baseball Reference October 21, 1968: Bob Bailey was purchased by the Expos from the Los Angeles Dodgers.Bob Bailey at Baseball Reference December 2, 1968: Floyd Wicker was drafted by the Expos from the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1968 rule 5 draft.Floyd Wicker at Baseball Reference January 22, 1969: Donn Clendenon and Jesús Alou were traded by the Expos to the Houston Astros for Rusty Staub. Clendenon refused to report to his new team. The Expos sent Jack Billingham, Skip Guinn, and $100,000 to the Astros on April 8 as compensation.Rusty Staub at Baseball Reference 1968 MLB June amateur draft The Expos and San Diego Padres, along with the two American League expansion teams set to debut in 1969, the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots, were allowed to participate in the June 1968 MLB first-year player draft, although the new teams were barred from the lottery's first three rounds. The Expos drafted only 15 players in the 1968 June draft, and none reached the major leagues. All but five went unsigned.1968 Montreal Expos Draft Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft Baseball Reference Spring training The Expos held spring training at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida, a facility they shared with the Atlanta Braves. It was destined to become their long-time spring training home: they trained there through 1972 and from 1981 through 1997. Regular season Milestones First international game in MLB history First hit and extra-base hit in franchise history: Bob Bailey, a double in the first inning First home run: relief pitcher Dan McGinn, a two-run shot off future Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in the fourth Scorecard April 8, Shea Stadium, New York City, New York Team123456789RHEMontreal20110214011120New York03030000410153W: Shaw (1–0)  L: Koonce (0–1)  SV: Sembera (1)   HRs: McGinn (1), Staub (1), Laboy (1), Dyer (1) Opening Day lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position30 Maury Wills SS1 Gary Sutherland 2B10 Rusty Staub RF9 Mack Jones LF3 Bob Bailey 1B2 John Bateman C39 Coco Laboy 3B43 Don Hahn CF22 Mudcat Grant P Retrosheet box score: Montreal Expos 11, New York Mets 10; 8 April 1969 Others April 14, 1969: Mack Jones hit a three-run home run and two-run triple that highlighted an 8–7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Expos' first home victory as a franchise at Jarry Park. Jones' blast was also the first MLB home run hit outside the United States. Dan McGinn became the first MLB pitcher to win a game outside the United States. April 17, 1969: In just the franchise's ninth game in existence, Bill Stoneman pitched a 7–0 no-hitter while striking out 8 batters against the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. Johnny Briggs made the final out for the Phillies. Le Grand Orange Rusty Staub was the hitting hero for the Expos going 4 for 5 with three doubles and a homer. A crowd of 6,496 were on hand to see it in Philadelphia.Associated Press Associated Press Stoneman of Expos Hurls No-Hitter to Beat Phils, 7–0 https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F00B11FD345D137A93CAA8178FD85F4D8685F9 The New York Times April 18, 1969 August 28, 2009 Stoneman pitched another 7–0 no-hitter in 1972, against the New York Mets in Jarry Park on October 2. Season standings Montreal Expos Record vs. opponents MON Notable transactions April 27, 1969: Roy Face was signed as a free agent by the Expos.Roy Face at Baseball Reference June 3, 1969: Mudcat Grant was traded by the Expos to the St. Louis Cardinals for Gary Waslewski.Mudcat Grant at Baseball Reference June 11, 1969: Maury Wills and Manny Mota were traded by the Expos to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich.Dodgers finally bring Wills back home June 11, 1969: Paul Popovich was traded by the Expos to the Chicago Cubs for Adolfo Phillips and Jack Lamabe.Paul Popovich at Baseball Reference June 15, 1969: Donn Clendenon was traded by the Expos to the New York Mets for Kevin Collins, Steve Renko, Bill Carden (minors) and Dave Colon (minors).Donn Clendenon at Baseball Reference August 15, 1969: Roy Face was released by the Expos. August 19, 1969: Claude Raymond was purchased by the Expos from the Atlanta Braves.Claude Raymond at Baseball Reference September 13, 1969: Marv Staehle was purchased by the Expos from the Seattle Pilots.Marv Staehle at Baseball Reference Draft picks June 5, 1969: Terry Humphrey was drafted by the Expos in the 39th round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.Terry Humphrey at Baseball Reference Roster 1969 Montreal Expos Roster Pitchers 14 Roy Face 22 Mudcat Grant 21 Larry Jaster 22 Leo Marentette 25 Dan McGinn 44 Carl Morton 22,17 Dick Radatz 16 Claude Raymond 29 Howie Reed 18 Steve Renko 42 Bob Reynolds 27 Jerry Robertson 28 Carroll Sembera 23 Don Shaw 46 Steve Shea 26 Bill Stoneman 47 Gary Waslewski 24 Mike Wegener Catchers  2 John Bateman 12 John Boccabella 11 Ron Brand Infielders  3 Bob Bailey 17 Donn Clendenon  8 Kevin Collins  6 Ron Fairly 37 Remy Hermoso 41 Garry Jestadt 39 Coco Laboy 14 Marv Staehle  1 Gary Sutherland 30 Maury Wills  7 Bobby Wine Outfielders 19 Don Bosch  5 Ty Cline 35 Jim Fairey 43 Don Hahn 38 José Herrera  9 Mack Jones 15 Manny Mota 20 Adolfo Phillips 10 Rusty Staub 36 Floyd Wicker Manager  4 Gene Mauch Coaches 33 Peanuts Lowrey(Third Base) 32 Cal McLish(Pitching) 34 Bob Oldis(First Base) 31 Jerry Zimmerman(Bullpen) Player stats = Indicates team leader Batting Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HRRBISB C Ron Brand 103 287 19 74 .258 0 20 2 1B Bob Bailey Bob Bailey (baseball) 111 358 46 95 .265 9 53 3 2B Gary Sutherland 141 544 63 130 .239 3 35 5 3B Coco Laboy 157 562 53 145 .258 18 83 0 SS Bobby Wine 121 370 23 74 .200 3 25 0 LF Mack Jones 135 455 73 123 .270 22 79 6 CF Adolfo Phillips 58 199 25 43 .216 4 7 6 RF Rusty Staub 158 549 89 166 .302 29 79 3https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MON/1969.shtml 1969 Montreal Expos Statistics Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB R H Avg. HRRBISB Ron Fairly 70 253 35 73 .289 12 39 1 John Bateman John Bateman (baseball) 74 235 16 49 .209 8 19 0 Ty Cline 101 209 26 50 .239 2 12 4 Maury Wills 47 189 23 42 .222 0 8 15 Donn Clendenon 38 129 14 31 .240 4 14 0 José Herrera José Herrera (1960s outfielder) 47 126 7 36 .286 2 12 1 Don Bosch 49 112 13 20 .179 1 4 1 Kevin Collins Kevin Collins (baseball) 52 96 5 23 .240 2 12 0 Manny Mota 31 89 6 28 .315 0 0 1 John Boccabella 40 86 4 9 .105 1 6 1 Remy Hermoso 28 74 6 12 .162 0 3 3 Jim Fairey 20 49 6 14 .286 1 6 0 Floyd Wicker 41 39 2 4 .103 0 2 0 Marv Staehle 6 17 4 7 .412 1 1 0 Don Hahn Don Hahn (baseball) 4 9 0 1 .111 0 2 0 Garry Jestadt 6 6 1 0 .000 0 1 0 Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Bill Stoneman 42 235.2 11 19 4.39 185 Jerry Robertson Jerry Robertson (baseball) 38 179.2 5 16 3.96 133 Mike Wegener 32 165.2 5 14 4.40 124 Steve Renko 18 103.1 6 7 4.01 68 Mudcat Grant 11 50.2 1 6 4.80 20 Bob Reynolds Bob Reynolds (baseball) 1 1.1 0 0 20.25 2 Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Gary Waslewski 30 109.1 3 7 3.29 63 Howie Reed 31 106.0 6 7 4.84 59 Larry Jaster 24 77.0 1 6 5.49 39 Carl Morton 8 29.1 0 3 4.60 16 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Dan McGinn 74 7 10 6 3.94 112 Roy Face 44 4 2 5 3.94 34 Don Shaw Don Shaw (baseball) 35 2 5 1 5.21 45 Carroll Sembera 23 0 2 2 3.55 15 Dick Radatz 22 0 4 3 5.71 32 Claude Raymond Claude Raymond (baseball) 15 1 2 1 4.09 11 Steve Shea 10 0 0 0 2.87 11 Leo Marentette 3 0 0 0 6.75 4 Awards and honors 1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Rusty Staub, reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Vancouver Mounties Pacific Coast League Bob Lemon A West Palm Beach Expos Florida State League Ed Sadowski Rookie GCL Expos Gulf Coast League J. W. Porter LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Expos On June 5, 1969 the Montreal Expos played a game against their farm team the Vancouver Mounties, the Mounties won 5-3. https://web.archive.org/web/20180105180318/http://funwhileitlasted.net/tag/mlb-vs-minor-league-exhibitions/ January 5, 2018 at Fun While It Lasted Vancouver affiliation shared with Seattle Pilots Notes 2 References Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 1969 Montreal Expos at Baseball Reference 1969 Montreal Expos at Baseball Almanac Category:Montreal Expos seasons Montreal Expos season Category:Major League Baseball inaugural teams seasons Category:1969 in Montreal Category:1969 in sports in Quebec