1983 Montreal Expos

From 1979 - 1983 (I know, using multiple endpoints is a bad idea), the Expos were the best team in the National League record wise. All they had to show for it was a loss in the 1981 NLCS. Bill Virdon, an experienced manager was brought in to turn the team around after a disappointing 1982 season. They had several solid all-stars and hall-of-famers. On paper, this team should've blown away the Phillies. The problem was a lack of starting pitching beyond the first three and a thin bench that was rarely used. The team of the 1980s was never to be.

Best Player: I can't decide between Tim Raines or Andre Dawson...so I will award co-MVPs for this team.

Best Pitcher: Steve Rogers...Rogers and Bill Gullickson had identical 17-12 records, but Rogers had a better ERA and led the team in strikeouts.

All-Stars: Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Al Oliver, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers

Hall-of-Famers: Gary Carter, Andre Dawson

Rookie Card of the Year: Bryn Smith...I probably have a slightly different definition of a rookie card than most collectors (hey, it is my collection) as I have always hated those multi-player rookie cards. Bryn Smith gets his first solo card in the Topps set. Smith didn't have much of a season in 1983, but would go onto win 18 games in 1985 and wrap up his career as a member of the inaugural Colorado Rockies team in 1993.

Other Rookie Cards: Mike Gates (listed under retired players), Roy Johnson, Bryan Little

First Expo Cards: Terry Crowley, Doug Flynn, Randy Lerch, Dan Norman (listed under retired players), Mike Vail, Bill Virdon, Chris Welsh, Jim Wohlford, Joel Youngblood (listed under players on new teams)

Most interesting non-Topps card: Roy Johnson...wasn't really on the Expos roster in 1983, as he played for the AA Wichita Aeros, not a very interesting career either, as he cups of coffee with the Expos in 1982, 1984, and 1985 and that was it.

Other notes: Wallace Johnson is shown as an Expo in the Fleer set, but logged more playing time with the Giants in 1983, so he will be listed on the Giants checklist. Manny Trillo played on the Phillies in 1982 and had three cards in the regular Topps set (his regular card, all-star, and a record breaker card) showing him as a Phillie. Trillo was sent to the Indians in the trade that sent Von Hayes to the Phillies. He is shown as an Indian in the 1983 Traded set. He even started the 1983 All-Star game for the American League. The Expos acquired Trillo in August of 1983, to late for the Traded set...so his regular Phillies card is listed on this checklist.

Starters

__	TO	370	C	Gary Carter	MON
__	TO	420	1B	Al Oliver	MON
__	TO	169	2B	Doug Flynn	MON
__	TO	768	SS	Chris Speier	MON
__	TO	552	3B	Tim Wallach	MON
__	TO	595	LF	Tim Raines	MON
__	TO	680	CF	Andre Dawson	MON
__	TO	495	RF	Warren Cromartie	MON
__	TT	62	MI	Bryan Little	MON

Starting Pitchers

__	TO	320	SP	Steve Rogers	MON
__	TO	31	SP	Bill Gullickson	MON
__	TO	629	SP	Charlie Lea	MON
__	TO	717	SP	Scott Sanderson	MON

Relief Pitchers

__	TO	290	CL	Jeff Reardon	MON
__	TO	447	RP	Bryn Smith	MON
__	TO	474	RP	Ray Burris	MON
__	TO	189	RP	Dan Schatzeder	MON
__			RP	Bob James

Other Players

__	TO	267	RF	Terry Francona	MON
__	TT	128	RF	Jim Wohlford	MON
__	TO	535	2B	Manny Trillo	PHI
__	TT	93	C	Bobby Ramos	MON
__	TT	119	UT	Mike Vail	MON
__	TT	22	1B	Terry Crowley	MON
__	TO	214	OF	Jerry White	MON
__			UT	Mike Stenhouse
__			SS	Angel Salazar
__	TO	744	CI	Brad Mills	MON
__	TO	57	C	Tim Blackwell	MON
__			OF	Gene Roof
__			PH	Mike Fuentes
__			PH	Wallace Johnson
__			LF	Razor Shines
__			IF	Mike Phillips
__			C	Tom Wieghaus
__	TT	125	RP	Chris Welsh	MON
__	TO	686	RP	Randy Lerch	MON
__			RP	Greg Bargar
__			RP	Rick Grapenthin
__			RP	Tom Dixon
__	TO	137	RP	Woodie Fryman	MON

Minors

__	DO	492	MN	Roy Johnson	MON
__	TO	164	MN	David Palmer	MON

Manager

__

TO

516

MG

Bill Virdon

MON

1982 Montreal Expos

MVP
My vote for MVP for this team goes not to the two hall-of-fame members on this roster (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson) or the other who should be in the hall-of-fame (Tim Raines), but veteran Al Oliver. He led the team in RBIs, batting average, and hits. And for those who like newer age stats, he led this team in OBP.

Cy Young
It comes down to Steve Rogers or relief ace Jeff Reardon. Steve Rogers had 19 wins and a 2.40 ERA while pitching more than twice as many innings as Reardon, so he gets the nod here.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
I have to take a detour to rant for a second. According to this blog, Steve Rogers may be the 31st best pitcher of all time not in the Hall-of-Fame. He is ranked ahead of Jimmy Key, Mickey Lolich, Jack Morris, and Ron Guidry. This asinine argument is based on a stat called Wins Above Replacement (WAR), meaning that over a career they were worth a number of wins for the team compared to an average pitcher. Sorry, this is why I hate these new stats derived from everybody owning a home computer that has proliferated baseball writing in the last 20 years. Can you really make this argument with a straight face? For Rogers, not to take away from his career by comparing him to the above listed players, but this '82 season was his best, and he was decent in a few other seasons. Would you pick him ahead of the players I listed above in a ranking of all-time pitchers? Really?

Rookie Card of the Year
Future 5-time all-star third baseman Tim Wallach gets the nod here. He had his first card in the 1982 sets, even though this was his 3rd season in the major leagues.

Most Interesting Non-Topps card
Another Expo rookie card in 1982 belonged to future Red Sox manager Terry Francona. He was on the Expos multi-player prospect card, but has his own card in both the Donruss and Fleer sets.

On another note for another Donruss card in this set, Felipe Alou is shown as a coach for the Expos, which he actually was in 1981, but he actually managed the AA team in Wichita in 1982.

Starters

__	TO	730	C	Gary Carter	MON
__	TT	83	1B	Al Oliver	MON
__	TO	302	2B	Doug Flynn	NYM
__	TO	191	3B	Tim Wallach	MON
__	TO	198	SS	Chris Speier	MON
__	TO	70	LF	Tim Raines	MON
__	TO	540	CF	Andre Dawson	MON
__	TO	695	RF	Warren Cromartie	MON

Starting Pitchers

__	TO	605	SP	Steve Rogers	MON
__	TO	7	SP	Scott Sanderson	MON
__	TO	172	SP	Bill Gullickson	MON
__	TO	38	SP	Charlie Lea	MON

Relief Pitchers

__	TO	667	CL	Jeff Reardon	MON
__	TO	788	RP	Woodie Fryman	MON
__	TO	292	SP	David Palmer	MON
__			RP	Bryn Smith
__	TO	227	RP	Ray Burris	MON

Other Players

__	DO	627	LF	Terry Francona (or FL 188)	MON
__			2B	Mike Gates
__	TO	386	OF	Jerry White	MON
__			RF	Joel Youngblood
__	TT	118	MI	Frank Taveras	MON
__	FL	196	3B	Brad Mills	MON
__			OF	Dan Norman
__	FL	192	2B	Wallace Johnson	MON
__			MI	Bryan Little
__	TT	7	C	Tim Blackwell	MON
__			OF	Roy Johnson
__	TO	638	1B	John Milner	MON
__			2B	Rodney Scott
__	TO	762	MI	Mike Phillips	MON
__	FL	420	PH	Ken Phelps	KCR
__			C	Brad Gulden
__	TO	479	LF	Rowland Office	MON
__			PH	Chris Smith
__			PH	Mike Stenhouse
__	TT	104	RP	Dan Schatzeder	MON
__			SP	Randy Lerch
__	TO	323	RP	Bill Lee	MON
__			RP	Bob James
__			RP	Tom Gorman
__			RP	Dave Tomlin

Manager/Coaches

__	DO	492	MG	Jim Fanning	MON
__	DO	650	MN	Felipe Alou	MON

1981 Montreal Expos

Hard Luck Franchise
This is the only playoff team in the 36 year history of the Montreal Expos. They lost in the NLCS 3 games to 2. The Expos had a knack for putting together their best teams in strike shortened seasons. Probably their best team was the 1994 team that never got to go to the playoffs because there were no playoffs that year due to a strike. This team was a casualty of the Bud Selig era, trying to turn major league baseball into the NFL. They could draw fans well in 1981 as they drew over 1.5 million fans and were the 3rd highest drawing team in the National League. Baseball did work in this city.

Tim Raines
The 1980s were my youth, and there is much love shown for getting Bert Blyleven in the hall of fame on the internet based on his statistics, and I think he deserves a spot, but sorry, nobody got excited about seeing Bert Blyleven play or receiving a Bert Blyleven card in their packs of baseball cards. I don't undersstand why there isn't more support for Tim Raines, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, or Steve Garvey. To me you can't tell the story of baseball in the 1980s without these players. I suppose this goes to what you think the hall of fame represents, and in my opinion it is about telling the history of baseball, and these players that receive little support had a lot to do with making the game memorable in the 1980s.

1981 was Tim Raines rookie year. I am using his Topps Traded card in this checklist because my goal was to start with the Topps and Topps Traded sets, but if interested in his true rookie card, that would be Donruss #538. He is also listed on the multi player future stars card for the Expos in the regular Topps set, and that is listed under the miscellaneous cards for 1981.

Starters

__	TO	660	C	Gary Carter	MON
__	TO	345	1B	Warren Cromartie	MON
__	TO	539	2B	Rodney Scott	MON
__	TO	15	3B	Larry Parrish	MON
__	TO	97	SS	Chris Speier	MON
__	TT	816	LF	Tim Raines	MON
__	TO	125	CF	Andre Dawson	MON
__			RF	Tim Wallach

Starting Pitchers

__	TO	578	SP	Bill Gullickson	MON
__	TO	235	SP	Scott Sanderson	MON
__	TO	725	SP	Steve Rogers	MON
__	TT	744	SP	Ray Burris	MON
__	TO	293	SP	Charlie Lea	MON

Relief Pitchers

__	TO	394	CL	Woodie Fryman	MON
__	TO	633	RP	Bill Lee	MON
__	TT	819	RP	Jeff Reardon	MON
__	TO	181	RP	Elias Sosa	MON
__	TO	267	RP	Stan Bahnsen	MON

Other Players

__			LF	Terry Francona
__			1B	John Milner
__	TO	445	RF	Ellis Valentine	MON
__	TO	559	1B	Willie Montanez	MON
__			2B	Jerry Manuel
__	TT	813	SS	Mike Phillips	MON
__	TO	319	OF	Rowland Office	MON
__	FL	162	C	Bobby Ramos	MON
__	TO	374	UT	Tom Hutton	MON
__			IF	Brad Mills
__			UT	Dan Briggs
__			2B	Wallace Johnson
__	DO	545	OF	Bob Pate	MON
__			2B	Chris Smith
__			1B	Dave Hostetler
__			RF	Pat Rooney
__			2B	Mike Gates
__			LF	Tony Johnson
__			C	Tom Wieghaus
__			RP	Steve Ratzer
__			RP	Tom Gorman
__			RP	Bryn Smith
__			RP	Grant Jackson
__			RP	Rick Engle

Minors

__	FL	337	MN	Dan Norman	NYM
__	TO	607	MN	David Palmer	MON
__	TO	107	MN	Rich Wortham	CHW

Manager/Coaches

__	FL	149	MG	Dick Williams (or DO 453)	MON
__			MG	Jim Fanning