1969 Montreal Expos season

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 Division 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.

1969 Montreal Expos
Inaugural Season
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1969)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Jarry Park (since 1969) Montreal (since 1969)
Other information
Owner(s)	Charles Bronfman
General manager(s)	Jim Fanning
Manager(s)	Gene Mauch
Local television	CBC Television (Hal Kelly, Jim Hearne) Télévision de Radio-Canada (Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron)
Local radio	CKGM (English) (Dave Van Horne, Russ Taylor) CKLM (French) (Jean-Pierre Roy, Jean-Paul Sarault)
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Offseason

Expansion draft

The Montreal Expos participated in the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft on October 14, 1968.

Player	Former team	Pick
Manny Mota	Pittsburgh Pirates	2nd pick[1]
Mack Jones	Cincinnati Reds	4th pick
John Bateman	Houston Astros	6th pick
Gary Sutherland	Philadelphia Phillies	8th pick
Jack Billingham	Los Angeles Dodgers	10th pick
Donn Clendenon	Pittsburgh Pirates	11th pick
Jesús Alou	San Francisco Giants	13th pick[2]
Mike Wegener	Philadelphia Phillies	15th pick
Skip Guinn	Atlanta Braves	17th pick[3]
Bill Stoneman	Chicago Cubs	19th pick
Maury Wills	Pittsburgh Pirates	21st pick[4]
Bobby Wine	Philadelphia Phillies	23rd pick[5]
Bob Reynolds	San Francisco Giants	25th pick
Dan McGinn	Cincinnati Reds	27th pick
José Herrera	Houston Astros	29th pick
Jimy Williams	Cincinnati Reds	32nd pick[6]
Remy Hermoso	Atlanta Braves	34th pick
Mudcat Grant	Los Angeles Dodgers	36th pick[7]
Jerry Robertson	St. Louis Cardinals	38th pick
Don Shaw	New York Mets	40th pick[8]
Ty Cline	San Francisco Giants	41st pick
Garry Jestadt	Chicago Cubs	43rd pick
Carl Morton	Atlanta Braves	45th pick[9]
Larry Jaster	St. Louis Cardinals	47th pick
Ernie McAnally	New York Mets	49th pick
Jim Fairey	Los Angeles Dodgers	52nd pick
Coco Laboy	St. Louis Cardinals	54th pick[10]
John Boccabella	Chicago Cubs	56th pick
Ron Brand	Houston Astros	58th pick
John Glass	New York Mets	60th pick

Other transactions

• October 16, 1968: Don Bosch was purchased by the Expos from the New York Mets.[11]
• October 21, 1968: Bob Bailey was purchased by the Expos from the Los Angeles Dodgers.[12]
• December 2, 1968: Floyd Wicker was drafted by the Expos from the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1968 rule 5 draft.[13]
• 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.[14]

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.[15]

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 would train 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

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Montreal	2	0	1	1	0	2	1	4	0	11	12	0
New York	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	4	10	15	3
W: Shaw (1–0)  L: Koonce (0–1)  SV: Sembera (1)
HRs: McGinn (1), Staub (1), Laboy (1), Dyer (1)

Opening Day lineup

30	Maury Wills	SS
1	Gary Sutherland	2B
10	Rusty Staub	RF
9	Mack Jones	LF
3	Bob Bailey	1B
2	John Bateman	C
39	Coco Laboy	3B
43	Don Hahn	CF
22	Mudcat Grant	P

[16]

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.[17] Stoneman pitched another 7–0 no-hitter in 1972, against the New York Mets in Jarry Park on October 2.

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Mets	100	62	0.617	—	52–30	48–32
Chicago Cubs	92	70	0.568	8	49–32	43–38
Pittsburgh Pirates	88	74	0.543	12	47–34	41–40
St. Louis Cardinals	87	75	0.537	13	42–38	45–37
Philadelphia Phillies	63	99	0.389	37	30–51	33–48
Montreal Expos	52	110	0.321	48	24–57	28–53

Record vs. opponents

1969 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	3–9	12–6	15–3	9–9	8–4	4–8	6–6	8–4	13–5	9–9	6–6
Chicago	9–3	—	6–6–1	8–4	6–6	10–8	8–10	12–6	7–11	11–1	6–6	9–9
Cincinnati	6–12	6–6–1	—	9–9	10–8	8–4	6–6	10–2	5–7	11–7	10–8	8–4
Houston	3–15	4–8	9–9	—	6–12	11–1	10–2	8–4	3–9	10–8	10–8	7–5
Los Angeles	9–9	6–6	8–10	12–6	—	10–2	4–8	8–4	8–4	12–6	5–13	3–9
Montreal	4–8	8–10	4–8	1–11	2–10	—	5–13	11–7	5–13	4–8	1–11	7–11
New York	8–4	10–8	6–6	2–10	8–4	13–5	—	12–6	10–8	11–1	8–4	12–6
Philadelphia	6-6	6–12	2–10	4–8	4–8	7–11	6–12	—	10–8	8–4	3–9	7–11
Pittsburgh	4–8	11–7	7–5	9–3	4–8	13–5	8–10	8–10	—	10–2	5–7	9–9
San Diego	5–13	1–11	7–11	8–10	6–12	8–4	1–11	4–8	2–10	—	6–12	4–8
San Francisco	9–9	6–6	8–10	8–10	13–5	11–1	4–8	9–3	7–5	12–6	—	3–9
St. Louis	6–6	9–9	4–8	5–7	9–3	11–7	6–12	11–7	9–9	8–4	9–3	—

Notable transactions

• April 27, 1969: Roy Face was signed as a free agent by the Expos.[18]
• June 3, 1969: Mudcat Grant was traded by the Expos to the St. Louis Cardinals for Gary Waslewski.[19]
• June 11, 1969: Maury Wills and Manny Mota were traded by the Expos to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich.[20]
• June 11, 1969: Paul Popovich was traded by the Expos to the Chicago Cubs for Adolfo Phillips and Jack Lamabe.[21]
• 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).[22]
• August 15, 1969: Roy Face was released by the Expos.[18]
• August 19, 1969: Claude Raymond was purchased by the Expos from the Atlanta Braves.[23]
• September 13, 1969: Marv Staehle was purchased by the Expos from the Seattle Pilots.[24]

Draft picks

• June 5, 1969: Terry Humphrey was drafted by the Expos in the 39th round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.[25]

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 32 Cal McLish 34 Bob Oldis 31 Jerry Zimmerman

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Ron Brand	103	287	19	74	.258	0	20	2
1B	Bob Bailey	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	3

[26]

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.	HR	RBI	SB
Ron Fairly	70	253	35	73	.289	12	39	1
John Bateman	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	47	126	7	36	.286	2	12	1
Don Bosch	49	112	13	20	.179	1	4	1
Kevin Collins	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	4	9	0	1	.111	0	2	0
Garry Jestadt	6	6	1	0	.000	0	1	0

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	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	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	6	7	4.84	59
Larry Jaster	24	77	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	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	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

Level	Team	League	Manager
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.[27]

Vancouver affiliation shared with Seattle Pilots

Notes

1. Manny Mota at Baseball Reference
2. Jesús Alou at Baseball Reference
3. Skip Guinn at Baseball Reference
4. Maury Wills at Baseball Reference
5. Bobby Wine at Baseball Reference
6. Jimy Williams at Baseball Reference
7. Mudcat Grant at Baseball Reference
8. Don Shaw at Baseball Reference
9. Carl Morton at Baseball Reference
10. Coco Laboy at Baseball Reference
11. Don Bosch at Baseball Reference
12. Bob Bailey at Baseball Reference
13. Floyd Wicker at Baseball Reference
14. Rusty Staub at Baseball Reference
15. 1968 Montreal Expos Draft Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft Baseball Reference
16. Retrosheet box score: Montreal Expos 11, New York Mets 10; 8 April 1969
17. Associated Press (April 18, 1969). "Stoneman of Expos Hurls No-Hitter to Beat Phils, 7–0". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
18. Roy Face at Baseball Reference
19. Mudcat Grant at Baseball Reference
20. Dodgers finally bring Wills back home
21. Paul Popovich at Baseball Reference
22. Donn Clendenon at Baseball Reference
23. Claude Raymond at Baseball Reference
24. Marv Staehle at Baseball Reference
25. Terry Humphrey at Baseball Reference
26. https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MON/1969.shtml
27. Archived January 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine at Fun While It Lasted

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1969 Montreal Expos at Baseball Reference
• 1969 Montreal Expos at Baseball Almanac