Comments on: Looking back at previous league takeovers

By: dprat

dprat — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 04:01:52 +0000

In 1982 and 1983, the Expos were fourth each year in MLB attendance. Better than the Yankees both years. Far, far better than the Red Sox both years. And about a million – yup, a million – more, each year, than the Cubs. Better than the Giants, the Braves, the Tigers, the Pirates,the Reds, the Mets, etc. etc. And better even than the World Series and pennant winners in each of those years (Cardinals and Brewers in ’82; Orioles and Phillies in ’83). And the fans showed up to support Expos teams that were third in their division both years, slightly above .500.

So obviously there was a market for baseball in Montreal. How that market was killed, who deserved the blame for it, how blame should be apportioned between MLB, the Expos ownership, and the Montreal city fathers, etc… all of that can be argued. But there is no doubt that Montreal definitely was, and with a bit of vision very well might have remained, a great home to MLB.

By: mikedi33

mikedi33 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:28:00 +0000

Read the article on the Expos. How did Oscar Minaya end up with the Mutts based on that track record. It seems he single handedly left both fr chisel screwed up for years

By: jamie54

jamie54 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:00:39 +0000

See attendance numbers below, dummy, then check yourself. Cry all you want about having to pay in $$, go to Toronto then, I think they still have a team.

By: seeingwhatsticks

seeingwhatsticks — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:31:50 +0000

The Nationals have only avg more than 30k/gm once, their first year. Since that first year they’ve been under that mark and so far are under 20k/gm. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the Montreal situation but it seems to this outsider that the two biggest problems were the stadium and MLB’s lack of commitment to baseball in Montreal.

By: heyblueyoustink

heyblueyoustink — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:15:17 +0000

And somewhere……someone is crying in their Vance Law replica jersey

By: gatherspeed

gatherspeed — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:03:14 +0000

That is 20k a game during the good years of 1992-1993. Some teams in MLB baseball would love to have that today.

By: gatherspeed

gatherspeed — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:01:01 +0000

MLB and Bud screwed the Expos. Letting Loria take over the Marlins and buying the Expos for 180 million, then moving them and selling them for 400(?) million says it all. Who got the 220 million profit? There is a story there.

If Loria wanted out he should have found a buyer on his own. I own a business that lost money in 2007-2009, but there was nobody to buy me out. I could have closed, or sold, but instead I worked like a dog, came up with new concepts and I’m breaking even and looking good in 2011. Montreal was a strong baseball town until the mid 90s fire sale and the Loria years.

They should have done the same with the Expos. But there was no effort. The only effort was suffocating baseball in Montreal to line the pockets of MLB with wads of cash.

By: bloodysock

bloodysock — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:59:18 +0000

The Expos only drew more than 2 million fans in four seasons (1979-1980 and 1982-1983).

Season totals from 1984-2004:

1984: 1,606,531
1985: 1,502,494
1986: 1,128,981
1987: 1,850,324
1988: 1,478,659
1989: 1,783,533
1990: 1,373,087
1991: 934,742
1992: 1,669,127
1993: 1,641,437
1994: 1,276,250
1995: 1,309,618
1996: 1,616,709
1997: 1,497,609
1998: 914,909
1999: 772,737
2000: 926,272
2001: 642,743
2002: 812,537
2003: 1,025,639
2004: 748,550

By: cur68

cur68 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:45:57 +0000

Don’t forget brockw82, the stadium was arguably unsafe for fans. Pieces of it fell were known to fall off. Lots of people stayed away because of stuff like that.

And FTR; j54 ain’t an idiot, just wants proof of statement. Which is, I think, reasonable,

By: brockw82

brockw82 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:41:28 +0000

How about you are an idiot — look at their attendance before 1994, the fact that the team had to pay in American dollars (I am an American btw) with the fluctuating exchange rate, and the fact that they took the team over and scuttled any plans they had for a downtown stadium instead of the concrete monster that is Olympic Stadium.

By: heyblueyoustink

heyblueyoustink — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:40:06 +0000

Let’s see:

Raising ticket and merchandising pricing to increase revenue? Check

Remains largely profitable during a recession? Check

While reacting late, willing to wage a war on drugs? Check

Willing to play hardball with unruly unions? Check

Unafraid to take out unworthy heads of organizations? Check

………Hmmmmmm, I got it! MLB for president, 2012!!………..

By: jamie54

jamie54 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:39:13 +0000

the league totally screwed Montreal over and drove the fans away.

Make a statement like that and I say prove it. They had a competitive team year after year near the end and still no fans showed up so how is that MLB’s fault? Where’s the proof? Don’t go throwing statements out as fact without legitimate proof.

By: stinkfist5

stinkfist5 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:34:23 +0000

It’s Canada, who cares?

By: brockw82

brockw82 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:01:33 +0000

As a longtime Expos fan, that’s perhaps the saddest picture I’ve seen in awhile…..the league totally screwed Montreal over and drove the fans away.